Kim Jong-Il Visits China
The Wall Street Journal reports on Kim Jong-Il's visit to China:
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il traveled to northeastern China—his second trip in four months to Pyongyang's chief ally—to visit a school attended by his father, in a symbolic move that appeared aimed at solidifying plans for his own succession.
Thursday's visit, disclosed by South Korean officials and confirmed by local Chinese residents informed of it, comes about two weeks ahead of a major political gathering in North Korea, where Mr. Kim is expected to appoint his third son, Kim Jong Eun, to a position that would publicly signal he will eventually become the country's next top leader. South Korean media reports said that Kim Jong Eun accompanied Mr. Kim to China Thursday, but that couldn't be confirmed.
Mr. Kim left North Korea apparently without meeting former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who arrived Wednesday in Pyongyang to retrieve an American teacher who walked into North Korea from South Korea in January.
Mr. Kim's travel to China during Mr. Carter's visit is a sign that the succession issue is now at the top of the North Korean leader's agenda. North Korea's Workers Party will hold a meeting of party representatives next month, the first since 1966, and many analysts believe the gathering will be used to elect new leaders and even if Mr. Kim's son is appointed to an official post at the gathering, some say his rise is far from guaranteed. For Mr. Kim to embark on this trip to China now could be a way of invoking the Kim family mythology to attach some legitimacy to his son.
The son, Kim Jong Eun, has never been seen in public or in the media in North Korea. And Kim Jong Il's poor handling of the country's economy, most recently illustrated by severe shortages after a move to suppress market activities, has weakened support for his regime.
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