China has formally invited North Korea’s leader-in-waiting to visit, but it was not clear when Kim Jong-un would make the trip, a South Korean lawmaker said yesterday, quoting a senior spy agency official.
China is the only major power isolated North Korea can count on as an ally. Kim Jong-un is North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and heir apparent, who came into the public eye in September when he was named to a senior ruling party post and promoted to the rank of four-star general.
South Korea’s spy agency believes Kim Jong-un is likely to -accept the invitation and visit Beijing soon, said the lawmaker who is a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee after a closed-door briefing on Friday.
Senior officials from the spy agency attended the briefing and members of parliament are asked not to disclose information they were briefed on, the lawmaker said, declining to be identified.
Little is known about Kim Jong-un other than he is in his late 20s and received a Swiss education. South Korean officials said the North’s official media have been on a campaign to paint him as the person best fit for leadership of the state founded by his grandfather.
The visit, if it takes place, will boost Kim Jong-un’s standing as the North’s next leader, as China remains the reclusive North’s main economic and political backer. Kim Jong-un is likely to ask China for large-scale economic aid when he visits, a Japanese newspaper reported earlier last week, adding he could go as early as this month, after the end of China’s National People’s Congress.
Yesterday, the North’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper called for an unconditional resumption of talks, saying in commentary carried by the KCNA news agency its offer for negotiations with the South remains on the table.
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