SEOUL — He rarely leaves his secure confines in Pyongyang, but Asian news reports cite signs that reclusive North Korean strongman Kim Jong-Il is preparing for a trip to Beijing.
Kim, who is believed to have traveled to China four times since 2000, two of them in the month of January, could be ready to announce his nation’s return to the six-party nuclear-disarmament talks, some analysts say.
North Korea’s desperate economy, weakened by international sanctions following Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests last year, could force Kim back to the bargaining table in the hopes of extracting food and financial aid.
Kim’s previous trips abroad have signaled new business ventures or a renewed push for nuclear talks. U.S. officials say they would welcome such a trip if it brought renewed rounds of the stalled nuclear negotiations, which also include Japan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S.
“We have always welcomed interaction with North Korea by our partners in the six-party process, and we welcome that interaction if Kim Jong-Il travels to Beijing,” a senior State Department official, who requested anonymity, told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
According to the news reports, North Korean officials have tightened security around a rail border crossing into China. Pyongyang also has shuttered a customs house in the northwest part of the country near the Chinese border city of Dandong, Japan’s Nihon Keizai newspaper reported.
Kim’s sojourns outside North Korea are usually shrouded in secrecy.
Chinese officials have not commented on the prospect of another Kim visit.
