Seoul (AsiaNews) - Chinese vice president Xi Jinping has formally invited North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, scheduled in Beijing next August 8. In the unlikely case that the invitation would be accepted, Kim could be seated beside American president Bush and South Korean president Lee.
According to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, which reported the news citing Chinese intelligence sources, the invitation is the corollary of a "particularly difficult" visit made by Xi to Pyongyang. The Chinese politician brought the Dear Leader a letter from Hu Jintao, in which the Chinese president invites his counterpart to suspend his stalemate with the international community over the nuclear question.
Some diplomatic sources, nonetheless, minimise the affair: "Since Xi himself invited Kim, some top ranking North Korean official is likely to attend the opening ceremony, but the chance of Kim showing up at the ceremony is extremely slim: it will most likely be the North's second in command, Kim Yong-nam, the president of the Supreme People's Assembly".