|
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law, the first deputy director of the powerful Workers' Party, is in China, touring key economic areas in the country and raising hopes that the reclusive country may be eyeing further reforms. Diplomatic sources in Beijing say Jang Song-taek leads a 30-member delegation to China. Jang arrived in Beijing on Saturday.
He is scheduled to visit southern China¡¯s economic zones Guangzhou and Shenzhen -- sites that Kim Jong-il himself visited during his trip to China in January. Jang is also expected to meet China's top economic officials to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Analysts say the trip is part of Pyongyang's plan to draw up a set of economic reform measures modeled after China's. Kim Jong-il's trip to China earlier this year spawned similar speculation.
A detailed itinerary of the North Korean delegation has not been released. In recent weeks, Jang was at the center of media attention when he was reportedly reinstated after disappearing from public view for two years. He was believed to have been under house arrest as a result of a power struggle.
Arirang News
|
