Beijing, Aug 30 (DPA) North Korean leader Kim Jong Il says he hoped for an early resumption of international talks to end his country’s nuclear weapons programme, with the hope of easing tension with South Korea, Chinese state media quoted him as saying Monday.
Kim said North Korea’s stance on adhering to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula had remained unchanged, and the country was ‘not willing to see tensions on the peninsula’, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The North Korean leader expressed the wish to work with China towards an ‘early resumption’ of the six-party talks, Xinhua said.
The comments came after Kim’s meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao Friday. They were the first official confirmation of a five-day visit by the reclusive North Korean leader to China.
Hu said that all parties concerned should continue to actively work for the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, including its denuclearisation, the state media reports said.
The two leaders said they would deepen the diplomatic, economic and strategic relationships between their countries. Hu said economic development cannot be achieved without cooperating with the outside world, according to the Xinhua report.
Tensions between North and South Korea have been on the rise since the March 26 sinking of a South Korean warship, which an international investigation said may have been caused by a Northern torpedo. Pyongyang has denied any involvement.
Kim visited the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin over the weekend, extending to five days a visit that has been surrounded by intense speculation.
His special train left Harbin railway station in Heilongjiang province early Monday, and appeared to be taking the leader home, the South Korean Yonhap News agency said.
In Mudanjiang city, Kim visited a historical site connected to his father Kim Il Sung’s fight against Japanese colonial rule, an official told DPA. In the city of Jilin, Kim also visited a school his father attended in the 1920s.
Political observers speculated that the trip was aimed at winning Chinese support for Kim’s plans to designate his third and youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as his successor.
South Korean officials said the son, believed to be in his late 20s, might have accompanied his father, 68, who is said to have suffered a stroke in 2008.
North Korea’s Workers’ Party has scheduled one of its rare party meetings in early September, where Kim Jong Un may be elevated to a high party rank to prepare him for taking power.
Analysts have suggested that Kim Jong Un’s youth and inexperience are of concern to his father, and support from China, North Korea’s main political and economic supporter, is seen as crucial for the power succession.
Previous trips to China by Kim have not been confirmed by either the Chinese or North Korean governments until they are over.
At the weekend, earlier reports suggested Kim was already on his way back to North Korea, when he suddenly turned up in Harbin.
