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By Park Min-hee, Beijing Correspondent
　　
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il arrived at the city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province, near Shanghai, at around 9 p.m. (local time) on Sunday, the third day of his China trip. The whereabouts of his train had been unclear after passing Liaoning Province’s Shenyang Station at around 7 p.m. on May 21 without stopping following a visit to the three provinces of northeastern China on May 20 and 21, but the train arrived at Yangzhou Station under heavy security Sunday evening.
Analysts are saying one of the aims of Kim’s trip to Yangzhou is to look back upon and show off Pyongyang’s connection with Beijing. The city, a hub for China’s Grand Canal, is the home of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and was also the destination of a 1991 visit by Kim Il-sung. Some observers say that Kim, who met with Jiang three times during previous China visits, plans to reunite with him during this visit to Yangzhou.
Kim, who came to China on May 20 by way of the Tumen River city of Tumen in Jilin Province, is following a relentless schedule. He headed south for Yangzhou after spending the three days through May 22 crossing all three northeastern Chinese provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning. Since departing from Pyongyang, Kim’s train has traveled more than 3,000 kilometers of Chinese territory in three days, not including the distance traveled within North Korea to North Hamgyong Province. Also, the train has continued traveling twenty-four hours a day, with the North Korean leader bunking in a special car rather than at hotels.
Following his arrival in Tumen on the morning of May 20, Kim immediately headed to Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang to look at a historical site for the anti-Japanese resistance. After having dinner at the Holiday Inn, Kim departed by train late at night and arrived in Changchun at 8:20 the next morning. Contrary to expectations, he continued traveling for more than twelve hours through the night without stopping in Harbin. In Changchun, he visited the FAW Group and had a lunch meeting with Chinese officials at the Nanhu Hotel before immediately departing from Changchun Station by special train. The train appears to have arrived in Yangzhou on Sunday afternoon after passing through Shenyang without stopping at around seven o’clock Saturday evening, indicating that Kim spent more than 24 straight hours on the train.
Experts said that by traveling along the continent without stopping for three days, Kim was showing confidence in his health. A Beijing diplomat said, “We have kept hearing lately about how Kim Jong-il’s health had taken a turn for the better, and the speed and course of his travel this time seem to indicate a degree of confidence in his health.”
But some observers are suggesting that Kim’s itinerary shows “nostalgia for the past” as he retraces the steps of previous visits, as well as poor judgment in selecting an excessively long distance from the far northeastern border all the way to southern China.
　　　
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