Kim for early resumption of talks

August 30, 2010 08:21 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 09:25 pm IST - BEIJING

In this image made Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 from China Central Television footage, North Korea's Kim Jong Il, third from left, applauds with Chinese President Hu Jintao, at right, during a banquet held in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin province on Friday Aug. 27, 2010. China on Monday confirmed North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's visit, according to a Japanese news agency, signaling the end of a secretive trip that fueled speculation he was seeking aid and drumming up support for a succession plan. (AP Photo/CCTV via APTN)  ** TV OUT CHINA OUT **

In this image made Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 from China Central Television footage, North Korea's Kim Jong Il, third from left, applauds with Chinese President Hu Jintao, at right, during a banquet held in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin province on Friday Aug. 27, 2010. China on Monday confirmed North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's visit, according to a Japanese news agency, signaling the end of a secretive trip that fueled speculation he was seeking aid and drumming up support for a succession plan. (AP Photo/CCTV via APTN) ** TV OUT CHINA OUT **

Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Kim Jong-il in the northeastern city of Changchun on Friday, State media reported after three days of silence over the North Korean leader’s latest secretive visit to China.

While the ailing Mr. Kim, who insists on a high degree of secrecy for his rare trips overseas, was seen in northeastern China on Friday in images broadcast by South Korean media, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and the official media here, had until Monday, refused to confirm that he was in China.

State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said on Monday that Mr. Kim had met with Mr. Hu on Friday. The two leaders held talks on a range of issues ranging from North Korea’s controversial nuclear programme to the recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the sinking of the South Korean warship, the Cheonan, in March, which killed 46 sailors.

Mr. Kim said during the talks that he would support an “early resumption” of the Six Party talks along with South Korea, the United States, Russia and Japan, which have been suspended after the North quit the talks following the conducting of a nuclear test and several missile tests in April 2009. Mr. Hu called on all sides to “continue to place importance and make positive efforts to safeguard peace and stability”, and move towards the denuclearisation of the Korean pensinsula.

State media did not say if Mr. Kim’s son and designated successor, Kim Jong-un, had accompanied him on the trip. South Korean media and analysts had widely speculated that the reason for the trip — Mr. Kim’s second visit in three months to the country that is his only ally — was to secure Chinese support for his succession plans.

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