It has been learned that Pyongyang recently conveyed to Seoul a desire for the United States to guarantee the personal security of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il when he visits the South. "Expressing concerns about possible threats against Kim if and when he visits Seoul, as aired by the opposition parties and some North Korean defectors here, North Korea has sent the South a message, directly and indirectly, raising a need for America that stations armed forces in the South to guarantee in some form Kim's personal security," said a Seoul official.

Accordingly, some have speculated that the matter may be taken up as an informal issue at official South-Korea-US contacts such as the Seoul-Washington foreign ministers' meeting preceding the Asian-Pacific Economic Council forum slated for October 20-21 in Shanghai, China. However, a Seoul diplomatic source stated, "Should Seoul request the US to accept the North Korean demand, it would amount to Seoul's acquiescing in Pyongyang's claim that South Korea is a colony of the United States."

Irrespective of this matter, the North is said to remain unchanged in its policy in favor of Kim Jong Il's return visit to Seoul, partially because of advice given by Chinese President Jiang Zemin during his visit to Pyongyang in early September. Jiang reportedly recommended Kim's visit to Seoul in a roundabout way by saying, "It's hard to expect to see a regime emerge in the South that is more favorable to the North than the incumbent Kim Dae-jung administration."

(Lee Kyo Kwan, haedang@chosun.com )