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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il seems to have finished what is being interpreted as an economic study trip of China¡¯s boomtowns and may be discussing resumption of stalled six-nation talks to dismantle Pyongyang¡¯s nuclear program with his hosts. Once done with a visit to the city of Guangzhou, the poster city for China¡¯s economic reform programs, Kim is tipped to go on to Beijing on Tuesday, where he will meet President Hu Jintao, a source in Beijing said Monday. That meeting is likely to focus on U.S. sanctions against North Korea over its alleged currency counterfeiting and on the North¡¯s nuclear arms program.
Kim reportedly boarded his special armored train and left Shenzen, Guangzhou¡¯s sister city in Guangdong Province, at around 10 p.m. on Sunday. His exact trajectory was unknown, but Hong Kong¡¯s pro-Beijing Takungpao and Wenweipo dailies reported he was heading toward Beijing. The fastest train route from Guangzhou to Beijing is by way of the Jing-Guang railway, which takes around 22 hours to cover a distance of 2,324 km. Add another two hours from Shenzen to Guangzhou, and the reclusive leader¡¯s train should arrive in Beijing around 10 p.m. on Monday.
But some observers say the trip is unlikely to be that swift even if Kim heads straight for Beijing all engines blazing, since his train is armored with steel plates and thus only makes around 80 km/h. Meanwhile, rumors that the North Korean leader is on his way to Shanghai now look improbable since it takes 12 hours from Shenzen to Shanghai by train but there were no signs of Kim as of late Monday afternoon.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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