Is North Korea's Leader in China? Hints Say So, but Chinese Won't
By DAVID LAGUE
HONG KONG, Jan. 13 - In a big Chinese city, a convoy of limousines with blackened glass windows and minibuses packed with security officers usually means inconvenience and delays for commuters. Without warning, thousands of police officers may block all approach roads so that a senior Chinese leader or visiting dignitary can sweep along empty avenues.
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Rarely, though, do the authorities go to the extent of clearing out an entire five-star hotel without explanation ahead of time. So when the authorities in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou ordered all guests to leave the luxury White Swan Hotel on Thursday and threw up a tight security cordon around the building, it was clear that no ordinary dignitary was coming for the weekend.
With unconfirmed reports already circulating that the North Korean leader, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/_kim_jong_il/index.html?inline=nyt-per" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000066>Kim Jong Il</FONT></A>, had crossed the border into <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/china/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000066>China</FONT></A> aboard his special train earlier in the week, the hotel closing immediately fueled speculation that the secretive Mr. Kim had arrived for a tour of prosperous Guangdong Province, including the booming city of Shenzhen, next door to Hong Kong, where the Chinese economic reforms began more than two decades ago.
Senior Chinese officials have said Beijing is encouraging <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/northkorea/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" target="_blank" ><FONT color=#000066>North Korea</FONT></A> to adopt some of the same free-market reforms that rescued the planned economy of China from decades of stagnation, and Beijing may be eager to show Mr. Kim its showcase example. For Beijing, a revived North Korea would ease fears of a potentially destabilizing economic or political collapse on China's border and reduce the need for regular aid to prop up the Kim government.
The unconfirmed reports of Mr. Kim's tour have coincided with the visit to Beijing by Christopher Hill, the American assistant secretary of state who is Washington's top negotiator with North Korea. But Mr. Hill, who is in China as part of an effort to restart talks aimed at a deal to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs, said Thursday that he had "no plans" to meet Mr. Kim.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Kong Quan, said twice this week that he had no information about any visit by Mr. Kim, and the official Chinese news media carried no reports on the subject. But diplomatic analysts noted that the last time he visited China, in 2004, Beijing waited until he had returned home before breaking the news.
Mr. Kim has always been demanding about security, according to accounts from defectors. When he travels, he is always heavily guarded, and information about his movements is kept secret.
Meanwhile, at the White Swan, a member of the reservations staff confirmed Friday that there were no vacancies at the 840-room hotel, but declined to give any further details.
"Until the 16th of January, all the rooms are fully booked," she said.</DIV>[em10] |
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