Wen Jiabao was welcomed at the airport by the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il. The visit celebrates 60 years in the diplomatic relations between China and North Korea. The North Korean leader open to a "bilateral or multilateral dialogue”, but no promise of reopening the six-party talks.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Strengthening cooperation between Beijing and Pyongyang, and a new impetus in talks - bilateral or multilateral - on the North Korean nuclear issue. These are the themes at the heart of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to North Korea, where he was greeted yesterday at the airport of the capital with hugs and kisses from the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il.

The three-day visit, which ends tomorrow, October 6, is part of the program of celebrations for the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations, marked by tensions in recent weeks over the North Korean nuclear program. Encountering the Chinese premier, Kim Jong-il said that Pyongyang has abandoned plans for denuclearization of the peninsula and is open to "bilateral or multilateral dialogue".  The "Dear Leader" has not made any concrete commitment to the reopening of the six-party talks, which involves China, North Korea, South Korea, United States, Russia and Japan. The official Chinese Xinhua news agency stresses the "warm welcome" given to Premier Wen Jiabao, who attended a play at the side of North Korean leader and who has had "friendly talks" with him. Beijing wants to emphasize good diplomatic and trade relations with its North Korean ally, although the opening of Pyongyang to Washington - with the request of two way nuclear talks - has aroused discontent among the vertex of the Politburo.

In addition to the premier, the Chinese delegation is composed of Yang Jiechi, Foreign Minister , Wu Dawei his deputy, Beijing’s delegate to six-party talks on North Korean nuclear ambitions. Yesterday Wen Jiabao met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong-il, subscribing to "a series of agreements on cooperation," without specifying the contents and modalities of implementation. In recent days, Thomas Hong-Soon Han, a professor emeritus of international studies at Seoul's Hankuk University, told AsiaNews that the summit between leaders of China and North Korea – favoured by 60 years of relations between the countries – was necessary because of the "openness" of Pyongyang to the United States; openings that probably would undermine "the traditional balance of power" in Asian region.

 

 

• north
• korea
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• US