Teachers say NKorea’s Kim Visits Chinese School
BEIJING – Thursday, on the 2nd visit this year of North Korea’s cloistered head Kim Jong Il in China, for his country’s main source of financial and diplomatic support, he went to a school.
Either country has previously announced this extremely unusual visit, which comes just 3 months after the preceding visit of Kim, who hardly ever travels or when he does he goes by train. The presence of the ex- U.S. President Jimmy Carter is in North Korea contributed to the generation of this disclosure because many had thought he would meet the leader.
Two teachers at the Yuwen Middle School confirmed Kim Jong Il’s stop in Jilin City in Jilin province in northeastern China. “He definitely came over. But I’m not sure if his son was with him or what time he came,” said a physical education coach who would give only his last name Zhao. Another teacher, who preferred to remain anonymous, related Kim visited the school in the morning for about 20 minutes.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency and YTN television in Seoul said Kim may be traveling with a son to discuss with Chinese officials on plans to reassign power to a successor.
It’s broadly assumed that Kim is arranging to transfer power to his 3rd and youngest son, Kim Jong Un, and many North Korea observers believe the son will be established a key party position next month.
Late President Kim Il Sung, Kim’s father, attended the school from 1927 to 1930 after his family run away the Japanese occupation of Korea. At the time, Yuwen was a ferment of leftist philosophy. According to some biographies, Kim began absorbing communist principles while at Yuwen. According to the Jilin government’s website, in 1928, Kim organized demonstrations against “reactionary teachers” at Yuwen in addition to protests against Japan and the acquisition of Japanese merchandise.
Yonhap, citing a mysterious important Seoul official, said Kim’s unusual shatterproof train crossed the boundary into China early Thursday. YTN published related information but stated the leader arrived in China late Wednesday night.
The surprise journey comes as ex- Carter makes an exceptional visit to North Korea on a classified mission to make safe the liberty of a captive American. There was no information on whether Carter — who knows Kim Il Sung since 1944 — had been programmed to get together with the present leader.
China’s Foreign Ministry and the Communist Party’s international liaison department, which deals with relations with North Korea, made no comments on this visit.
North Korea made public in June that new ruling Workers’ Party leaders would be voted in near the beginning of September, flashing assumption that the shift is aimed at enhancing a government campaign to transmit power to a Kim successor.
Speculation on the succession deepened after the 68-year-old Kim seemingly suffered a stroke in 2008. Kim’s health issues incited to worries about insecurity and a likely power fight in the nuclear-armed state if he were to pass away without smearing a successor.
Kim’s last visit in China took place in May, when he met top leaders, including President Hu Jintao.
