Chinese President’s Special Envoy in North Korea
Seoul — China’s State Councilor Dai Bingguo visited North Korea on Wednesday in his capacity as a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao, holding talks with the North’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju, Pyongyang’s Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
“Dai Bingguo who is special envoy of Hu Jintao arrived in Pyongyang by plane, together with Wu Dawei, vice minister of Foreign Affairs and Fu Ziying, vice minister of Commerce,” the KCNA said in a brief dispatch from the North Korean capital, monitored here.
The KCNA also said the Chinese delegates watched the grand gymnastic and artistic performance “Arirang” at the May Day Stadium and attended a welcoming reception held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Wednesday night after their arrival in Pyongyang.
It noted North Korean participants in the reception included First Vice Foreign Minister Kang and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il.
In a related report, China’s official news agency, Xinhua, reported earlier Wednesday that Dai held talks with Kang, and they “thoroughly exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern.”
The abrupt North Korea visit by Hu’s envoy came after reports alleged that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao may visit the North in early October amid discussion between Washington and Pyongyang about possible bilateral talks aimed at denuclearizing the North.
Dai, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington in July, is expected to deliver the U.S. government’s viewpoint on the Korean Peninsula situation and the stalled six-way talks, as well as Beijing’s solutions to those issues, according to diplomatic watchers in Seoul.
Considering his status as a special envoy of the Chinese leader, Dai is also expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il while in Pyongyang, said the watchers.
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