ID :
42395
Fri, 01/23/2009 - 19:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/42395
The shortlink copeid
China's Hu Jintao delivers letter to N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao delivered a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il through a visiting Beijing official on Friday, Pyongyang's state news agency said, as Kim greeted a foreign guest for the first time since his reported stroke last summer.
Kim's appearance suggests he has recovered significantly and is in full control
of the country, watchers said.
Wang Jiarui, chief of the international department in the Chinese Communist
Party's central committee, "delivered congratulatory greetings and a letter" from
Hu to the North Korean leader, said the Korean Central News Agency. It did not
disclose what the letter said.
In a closely watched trip, Wang arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, raising
speculation the North Korean leader may appear to greet him as on all his
previous visits, the latest being in January 2008.
Speculation of his ill health has swirled after he did not appear for an
important anniversary event of the Workers' Party in September. Seoul and
Washington officials say he suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery in
August. Kim's health has drawn keen attention as it is interlinked with power
succession in the communist state.
"Common sense would say that Chairman Kim's health condition seems to be normal
as he met with a foreign guest," Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Kim
Ho-nyoun told Yonhap.
Sources say Wang's visit aims to lay the groundwork for a possible summit between
the two leaders. In a related sign, China's foreign ministry delegation visited
Pyongyang earlier this month. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between the allies.
"This meeting will put the rumors of his ill health to rest. It seems to show
that Kim can govern the country in a normal manner," Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea
studies professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said.
Koh also said Kim may be trying to get closer with Beijing as frozen relations
with Seoul continue.
Wang's visit also coincided with the inauguration of the Barack Obama
administration in the United States.
Pyongyang has been waiting for Obama to take office as it sees an opportunity to
start anew with Washington after eight years of largely frayed relations. In an
unusually prompt move, the North's official Korean Central News Agency quickly
announced Obama's inauguration less than 24 hours after the ceremony.
In his swearing-in ceremony, Obama vowed to work with "old allies and former
foes" to lessen the nuclear threat.
In an apparent move to draw Obama's attention, North Korea said last week it
would hold onto its nuclear weapons until it feels safe from U.S. military forces
stationed in South Korea.
Trips by Wang usually coincided with important events in North Korea. The North
Korean leader met Wang in January 2004, shortly before Kim's rare visit to China,
and again in February 2005, shortly after North Korea declared its possession of
nuclear weapons. Wang's latest trip in January 2008 came ahead of the
inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
hkim@yna.co.kr
Kim's appearance suggests he has recovered significantly and is in full control
of the country, watchers said.
Wang Jiarui, chief of the international department in the Chinese Communist
Party's central committee, "delivered congratulatory greetings and a letter" from
Hu to the North Korean leader, said the Korean Central News Agency. It did not
disclose what the letter said.
In a closely watched trip, Wang arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, raising
speculation the North Korean leader may appear to greet him as on all his
previous visits, the latest being in January 2008.
Speculation of his ill health has swirled after he did not appear for an
important anniversary event of the Workers' Party in September. Seoul and
Washington officials say he suffered a stroke and underwent brain surgery in
August. Kim's health has drawn keen attention as it is interlinked with power
succession in the communist state.
"Common sense would say that Chairman Kim's health condition seems to be normal
as he met with a foreign guest," Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Kim
Ho-nyoun told Yonhap.
Sources say Wang's visit aims to lay the groundwork for a possible summit between
the two leaders. In a related sign, China's foreign ministry delegation visited
Pyongyang earlier this month. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between the allies.
"This meeting will put the rumors of his ill health to rest. It seems to show
that Kim can govern the country in a normal manner," Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea
studies professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said.
Koh also said Kim may be trying to get closer with Beijing as frozen relations
with Seoul continue.
Wang's visit also coincided with the inauguration of the Barack Obama
administration in the United States.
Pyongyang has been waiting for Obama to take office as it sees an opportunity to
start anew with Washington after eight years of largely frayed relations. In an
unusually prompt move, the North's official Korean Central News Agency quickly
announced Obama's inauguration less than 24 hours after the ceremony.
In his swearing-in ceremony, Obama vowed to work with "old allies and former
foes" to lessen the nuclear threat.
In an apparent move to draw Obama's attention, North Korea said last week it
would hold onto its nuclear weapons until it feels safe from U.S. military forces
stationed in South Korea.
Trips by Wang usually coincided with important events in North Korea. The North
Korean leader met Wang in January 2004, shortly before Kim's rare visit to China,
and again in February 2005, shortly after North Korea declared its possession of
nuclear weapons. Wang's latest trip in January 2008 came ahead of the
inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
hkim@yna.co.kr
