Kim Jong Il in China, Says Yonhap
The dead of the Cheonan haven’t been in the ground for a week, but the man who probably ordered their deaths is still a welcome and honored guest in Beijing:
“We have confirmed the arrival of a special train at (the Chinese border city) Dandong, and we believe it is highly likely that Chairman Kim is on board,” a South Korean government official told Yonhap. [L.A. Times]
The last such report turned out to be a false alarm. Recall that I recently published photographs of Kim Jong Il’s train here, just in case your hobbies include lurking under railroad bridges in China with packs of C-4. And who among us hasn’t, at some stage of our lives?
His Dessicated Majesty’s agenda includes asking China for more bailout money, which I suppose China will try to fork over before it has to vote for the next sanctions resolution in the U.N. Security Council. Tom Friedman, call your office.
The Daily NK says,
C’mon, guys, relax. He hasn’t even been president since January 2001. Oh, wait ….
This is a brazen act by China. The North has been using China as cover throughout the past month-and-a-half and has manipulated Beijing into giving the impression that China stands by North Korea. Kim Jong Il met with the Chinese ambassador twice during the first week post-Cheonan sinking. President Hu met with Kim Yong-nam last week. Now Kim Jong Il is being allowed to traipse around Manchuria like he’s Paris Hilton on a shopping spree in Las Vegas.
Beijing claims it wants to be a mature, respected international power, but its handling of the Cheonan seems to prove otherwise. When dealing with terrorism—to paraphrase Bush—there is no middle ground and for China, the stakes have never been higher. Continuing this poorly-chosen tact of diplomacy will no doubt lead to China being ostracized from its major trade partners in Japan, the US, and South Korea.
Quoting today’s Dong-A Ilbo:
Beijing should shed its narrow-minded view of valuing its blood ties with Pyongyang and instead consider the sinking as an issue of grave concern that threatens peace in Northeast Asia. If China officially takes Kim’s side and helps save him, Beijing must also be held responsible.
[…]
If the Chinese accepts Kim’s requests [for aid and investment] and turns a blind eye to the Cheonan sinking, the international community will consider China and North Korea in the same group.