Kim Jong-un the marshal became Kim Jong-un the statesman as he met with Chinese political dignitaries in meetings that marked his first official foray into foreign affairs since becoming North Korea’s leader.
Kim told Wang Jiarui (王家瑞), head of the Chinese Communist Party’s international affairs office, that his government is focused on building the economy, and then invited the Chinese delegation to a banquet on Thursday, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.
The Korean Central News Agency reported the meeting without details on their discussions.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / KCNA
The occasion was Kim’s diplomatic debut as leader of North Korea, seven months after he took power following the December death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong-il.
Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be 29, has been swift in moving to build loyalty among North Korea’s 24 million people and to establish control over key institutions such as the military and the ruling Workers’ Party.
He also has been quick to show his rule will differ in style from that of his father, who kept his personal life out of the state media, rarely traveled abroad and met only selectively with foreign dignitaries.
After gaining the new title of marshal and shuffling the military leadership last month, Kim Jong-un made the surprise introduction of his wife, Ri Sol-ju. Kim also has emphasized raising the standard of living as a main goal of his leadership, an objective laid out for him by his father.
“Developing the economy and improving livelihoods so that the [North] Korean people lead happy and civilized lives is the goal the Workers’ Party is struggling toward,” Xinhua reported Kim as telling Wang.
The talks took place as swaths of North Korean farms remained submerged after heavy rains. Scores were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes in fierce storms last month, state media said.
The UN World Food Program said yesterday that it was sending a first shipment of emergency food aid to flood-ravaged parts of the country. Earlier this year, the UN said two-thirds of North Korea’s 24 million were coping with chronic food shortages.
Kim’s choice to host the Chinese comes as no surprise. China poured troops into North Korea to help fight the US-led UN forces during the 1950-1953 Korean War and remains Pyongyang’s main ally and biggest benefactor.
Though the relationship has been cool at times, with Pyongyang periodically snubbing the nation that considers itself a big brother to tiny North Korea, ties have deepened in recent years as North Korea has become increasingly reliant on China for much-needed food, oil and trade.
North Korea has looked to China for pointers on how to develop the economy within its socialist system. During his 17-year rule, Kim Jong-il rarely traveled abroad. However, he made an exception for China, traveling there by train four times in the last two years of his life.
Wang, a regular visitor to Pyongyang, met with Kim Jong-il during his visit to China August last year. Also at the table on Thursday was Kang Sok-ju, the seasoned North Korean diplomat who accompanied Kim on the China trip.
Kim Jong-un has yet to make his first trip abroad as leader but appears to be molding himself on his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, who traveled regularly overseas and mingled comfortably with foreign diplomats and journalists.
North Korea’s new leader already has demonstrated a willingness to rub shoulders with foreigners, including Westerners.
Foreign diplomats and officials were invited to the opening ceremony late last month of the new Rungna Island fairgrounds. One KCNA photo showed a British diplomat, Barnaby Jones, seated on a roller coaster one row from Kim Jong-un an image that sparked speculation in foreign media about Kim’s mysterious foreign friend.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was