Beijing: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il plans to visit China in mid-March, sources familiar with China-North Korean relations have said.
North Korea has informed China about the visit to happen immediately after the end on March 14 of the annual session of the National People`s Congress, which opens today, and the two countries are coordinating the trip, the sources said.
If realised, it would be Kim`s first trip to China since January 2006.
With the visit, China is expected to draw a positive response from Kim on resuming the stalled six-party denuclearisation talks, while North Korea is believed to seek assistance in rebuilding its economy dented by the failure of a currency reform it conducted last November.
According to the sources, North Korea thinks that if Kim visits China right after the NPC, he will be able to hold talks with the Chinese leadership and local government leaders gathered in Beijing for the annual event.
China, for its part, is considering hosting Kim from mid-March to early April to pave the way for a resumption of the multilateral talks on Pyongyang`s nuclear programs possibly in April, the sources said.
The sources also said that Choe Byong Ryol, who is believed to replace Choe Jin Su as North Korean ambassador to China in March, has been preparing for Kim`s visit to China since he arrived in Beijing in mid-February.
Choe Byong Ryol has held unofficial talks with Wu Dawei, China`s special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs, and inspected regional areas, they said.
PTI
