Kim Jong-Il Wants to End Nuclear Standoff

From the Washington Post January 18 2006

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said he is committed to a peaceful resolution of the standoff over his country's nuclear ambitions, as Pyongyang confirmed Wednesday that the reclusive Kim had visited China over the past week.

The trip _ widely reported in South Korean media but previously not confirmed by either Beijing or Pyongyang _ had raised expectations of a resumption of stalled six-nation talks on the North's nuclear programs.

Kim's trip ended the same day the main U.S. nuclear envoy was in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials over the nuclear issue. News reports said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill also talked with his North Korean counterpart, but Hill made no mention of any such meeting, and said no date had been set for the arms negotiations to resume.

During Kim's visit, North Korea and China "unanimously agreed to consistently maintain the stand of seeking a negotiated peaceful solution" to the nuclear issue, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

However, Kim also mentioned "difficulties" facing the talks. The North has refused to return to the negotiations unless Washington ends financial sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's alleged illegal activities. U.S. officials have rejected the demand, saying the matter is a criminal issue unrelated to the nuclear talks.

In September, the North agreed to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees. Talks have been stalled ever since.

Kim called for a joint effort with the Chinese "to overcome the difficulties in the six-way talks and to find a way to move forward," according to KCNA.

Chinese President Hu Jintao reiterated that the nuclear issue should be resolved at the six-party talks, which also include South Korea, Japan and Russia, Chinese state media reported.
"Describing the six-party talks as an efficient mechanism to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue appropriately, Hu reiterated China's principled stance, noting that it is a correct choice to properly settle the relevant problems by peaceful means through dialogues," the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Hill gave no details of his meetings with Chinese officials during his daylong visit to Beijing.
According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, Hill also held a meeting in the state guesthouse with his North Korean counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan. The talks were mediated by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, Yonhap said.

"They had lunch together and discussed the nuclear issue," an unidentified source was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said she had no comment on whether Hill met with North Korean officials.

Hill was wrapping up an Asian tour that included stops in Japan and South Korea.

KCNA said Kim was in China on an "unofficial visit" from Jan. 10 through Wednesday at Hu's invitation. Kim rarely leaves the country and only then under tight security, shunning air travel in favor of trains.

On Wednesday, a train believed to be carrying Kim crossed into North Korea around 10 a.m. after a 20-minute stop at the Chinese border city of Dandong, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.

Kim said he told Hu during their meeting in Beijing about his "impressions of his visit to the central and southern parts of China where the cause of modernization is being successfully carried out," according to KCNA.

South Korean and Japanese media had reported that Kim spent nearly a week in the heart of China's booming south, touring high-tech companies in a possible search for ideas to revive his nation's economy.

China has normally refused to give information on his visits to the North's last major ally until after his departure.

On Wednesday, state television devoted 10 minutes of its nightly news to coverage of Kim's trip. Footage showed Kim and Hu smiling and shaking hands as they posed for photographers. Kim was dressed in his usual gray Mao-style tunic and was sometimes shown bundled in a khaki jacket.

Although his trip was not officially acknowledged until Wednesday, Kim didn't travel inconspicuously. He took over an entire luxury hotel in the southern city of Guangzhou and traveled by 30-car motorcade. A Japanese TV network showed what it said was Kim on a river cruise.

Kim last visited China in 2004. In 2001, Kim visited Shanghai, the heart of communist China's experiment with capitalism. He toured its stock exchange, a software firm and joint-venture auto and electronics factories.