A motorcade believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrived at Beijing's state guesthouse yesterday, South Korean media reported, the latest sighting of a man whose whereabouts remain a mystery.
The 30-car convoy arrived at the Diaoyutai Guesthouse in Beijing at about 8:30am, a diplomatic source told South Korea's Yonhap news agency on condition of anonymity.
Kim was expected to meet with President Hu Jintao (
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it had no information on Kim's reported visit. In the past China has released details of Kim's travels only after he has returned to his country.
Kim, who rarely ventures abroad, is believed to have crossed into China a week ago.
It was his first known trip to his regime's only major ally since 2004. He also made a pair of visits to China in 2001.
Foreign news reports stated 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 country's laggard economy.
A Japanese TV network showed what it said was Kim on a river cruise in Guangdong Province.
Another Japanese broadcaster, Nippon TV, showed a figure with Kim's distinctive hairstyle getting into a limousine outside the provincial capital's White Swan hotel.
Meqnwhile, on Monday, pro-Beijing newspapers in Hong Kong said Kim's armored train was carrying him to the Chinese capital to meet Hu.
The US has urged Beijing to use its influence to convince Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks.
International talks on the North's nuclear ambitions have been stalled since November, with Pyongyang accusing the United States of a hostile attitude.
The talks also include Russia, Japan and South Korea.
READINESS: According to a survey of 2,000 people, 86 percent of Swedes believe the country is worth defending in the event of a military attack Swedes are stocking up on food items in case of war, as more conflict in Europe no longer feels like a distant possibility, and authorities encourage measures to boost readiness. At a civil preparedness fair in southwest Stockholm, 71-year-old Sirkka Petrykowska said that she is taking the prospect of hostilities seriously and preparing as much as she can. “I have bought a camping stove. I have taken a course on preservation in an old-fashioned way, where you can preserve vegetables, meat and fruit that lasts for 30 years without a refrigerator,” Petrykowska said. “I’ve set aside blankets for warmth, I
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
‘ARMED CONFLICT’: At least 21 people have died in such US attacks, while experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed narcotics traffickers US forces on Friday carried out a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said. The latest strike, which Hegseth announced in a post on X, brings the number of such US attacks to at least four, leaving at least 21 people dead. An accompanying video shared by Hegseth showed a boat speeding across the waves before being engulfed in smoke and flames. “Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” the Pentagon chief wrote. He said the strike “was conducted in international waters just off the