Propelled back to China for the second time in only eight months, Kim Jong Il’s latest trip to North Korea’s only loyal ally came to an end early this morning when his train crossed the Yalu River at Shinuiju.
Kim travelled for seven days, covering at least 6000km; however, although relations looked better than they were the last time he visited, given that he probably emerged without overt promises of the degree of economic support he needs to revive his moribund economy, it is hard to believe that the North Korean leader returned to Pyongyang fully satisfied.
It was particularly noticeable that two scheduled groundbreaking ceremonies in the Sino-North Korean economic sphere, one scheduled for the 28th at Hwanggeumpyong, an island in the mouth of the Yalu River between the two countries that is slated to become a free economic zone, and another for the construction of a road between Hunchun, China and the east coast port of Rasun, have been summarily cancelled, suggesting problems somewhere behind the unified veneer of the Kim-Hu summit in Beijing.
Regardless, the trip certainly gave Kim a chance to display his improved health. At one stage, prior to arriving in Yangzhou on Sunday night, Kim spent 30 hours on the train without stopping to rest.
It could be said that such dedication shows how far Kim is willing to go to maintain relations with China. He must surely have been hoping that through increased economic cooperation with the Chinese he could establish new areas to play the role of foreign currency earner for the regime.
However, despite his hard work and miles travelled, China’s reaction appears to have been, while not cold, certainly not as warm as Kim would have liked.
Yet that was predictable, of course. Premier Wen Jiabao outlined the meaning behind the trip from the Chinese perspective during a meeting with the leaders of South Korea and Japan last weekend, saying, We invited (Kim Jong Il) to give (North Korea) an opportunity to understand China’s development and use it in their own development.”
It was clearly an encouragement to North Korea to open up and enjoy Chinese offers of future growth, rather than a promise of massive aid.
However, the chances of his words making the necessary difference are slim. Premier Wen is known to have emphasized the same idea last August during Kim’s last visit, following which Kim has only seemed prepared to implement piecemeal ‘mosquito net reforms’, putting areas of relative economic openness at North Korea’s geographical extremities simply to earn foreign currency, and still seems unwilling to accede to Chinese demands of real change.
In Wednesday’s summit, Kim told Chinese President Hu Jintao, “While visiting various areas of China and seeing the shape of successful economic development, surprising changes impressed me.”
With such words and by looking around such economic sites as Panda Electronics, China’s largest electronics company, and large scale of discount mart, Kim seemed to be holding out the possibility that North Korea might embark upon thoroughgoing reform and opening.
However, in 2000 Kim visited Zhongguancun High-tech Zone, or ‘China’s Silicon Valley’, and in 2001 he went all the way to Shanghai and its newly developed Pudong area, on both occasions saying similarly enthusiastic things, and when he went to areas of southern China in 2006, he was quoted as saying, “I have been shocked by the changes in Gwangdong.” And yet every time his words remained just that; words.
