Chinese premier greeted by N. Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang

(ATTN: UPDATES headline, lead, paras 2, 11, with Xinhua's report on Kim at airport,
aid)
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Yonhap) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived Sunday in Pyongyang,
where he was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a Chinese report said,
in a trip expected to focus on reviving multilateral negotiations on the North's
nuclear program.
Kim received the Chinese premier at the Sunan Airport in the North Korean
capital, Xinhua News Agency said. Wen is the highest-ranking figure to visit the
allied neighbor since Chinese President Hu Jintao traveled there in 2005.
Wen's three-day visit is officially aimed at attending celebrations in Pyongyang
for the 60th anniversary of the allies' diplomatic relations, but it is widely
viewed as focused on diplomacy for reviving the stalled disarmament talks and
China's expected economic assistance to the North.
The disarmament forum also involves South Korea, the United States, China, Japan
and Russia. North Korea quit the talks in April in protest of U.N. criticism over
its long-range rocket launch, which was widely viewed by Western powers as a test
of its ballistic missile technology. Responding to subsequent U.N. sanctions,
Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear test in May.
North Korea shifted to conciliatory diplomacy in August, inviting Stephen
Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, in an attempt to
make a breakthrough with bilateral talks.
Last month, the North Korean leader said he was open to either "bilateral or
multilateral talks," hinting the country may return to the six-party talks. He
made the remarks to a visiting Chinese presidential envoy, Dai Bingguo.
Washington is expected to announce a trip to Pyongyang by Bosworth after Wen's
visit.
North Korea, meanwhile, hailed Wen's visit with an editorial in the Rodong
Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers' Party, stressing the visit "clearly
illustrates that the party and the government of China attach great importance to
the friendship" between the two countries. The report was carried by the
state-run radio, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station.
Wen's trip will "open a new chapter in the history of the friendship" and be "a
great encouragement to the Korean people" who are striving to build a prosperous
nation, the paper added.
China's foreign ministry indicated last week that its government would provide
new assistance to the North on the occasion of Wen's trip. The two nations will
also sign several deals on topics ranging from economy and trade to education and
tourism during the visit, it said.
Wen was accompanied by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Wang Jiarui, head of the
Chinese communist party's international department, and Wu Dawei, China's chief
envoy to the nuclear negotiations, Xinhua said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)