North Korean special envoy visits China to win confidence
China National News Wednesday 22nd May, 2013
• The visiting official is considered a longtime Kim family friend
• Visit seen as a major diplomatic effort by Pyongyang
• China says it is committed to seeing North Korea denuclearize
PYONGYANG, North Korea - In an indication that North Korea may give diplomacy a chance to end regional tension, its leader Kim Jong Un Wednesday sent a special envoy to China to win the confidence of its most important ally.
The trip by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, a senior Workers' Party official and the military's top political officer, comes after months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons.
The visit is taking place amid tensions easing on the Korean Peninsula. For the last two months, Pyongyang has been threatening to attack South Korean and US military bases in the region.
Choe is considered a longtime Kim family friend who is often seen standing next to the leader, along with Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle, in official pictures.
Jang, a top official now in charge of overseeing the push to expand North Korea's sports industry, visited China in August last year but was not in Wednesday's delegation.
This is the first trip by a top North Korean official to China as the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia have been urging Beijing to stop its belligerent neighbour and engage with Pyongyang on reining its nuclear weapon's programme.
China and North Korea are jointly developing two special economic zones: Rason on the Korean Peninsula's northeastern tip and Hwanggumphyong, an island in the Yalu River on North Korea's western border.
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China National News Wednesday 22nd May, 2013
• Visit seen as a major diplomatic effort by Pyongyang
• China says it is committed to seeing North Korea denuclearize
PYONGYANG, North Korea - In an indication that North Korea may give diplomacy a chance to end regional tension, its leader Kim Jong Un Wednesday sent a special envoy to China to win the confidence of its most important ally.
The trip by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, a senior Workers' Party official and the military's top political officer, comes after months of ignoring Chinese warnings to give up nuclear weapons.
The visit is taking place amid tensions easing on the Korean Peninsula. For the last two months, Pyongyang has been threatening to attack South Korean and US military bases in the region.
Choe is considered a longtime Kim family friend who is often seen standing next to the leader, along with Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle, in official pictures.
Jang, a top official now in charge of overseeing the push to expand North Korea's sports industry, visited China in August last year but was not in Wednesday's delegation.
This is the first trip by a top North Korean official to China as the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia have been urging Beijing to stop its belligerent neighbour and engage with Pyongyang on reining its nuclear weapon's programme.
China and North Korea are jointly developing two special economic zones: Rason on the Korean Peninsula's northeastern tip and Hwanggumphyong, an island in the Yalu River on North Korea's western border.
Page 1 of 2 | Next
