Kim Jong-il Pays Albright Surprise Visit

PYONGYANG - Just hours after she arrived in North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was rushed into talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il a day earlier than scheduled.

The two sides had been expected to meet on Tuesday but Mr. Kim, who is well known for surprises, paid an unexpected visit to the Paekwhawon Guest House, where Mrs. Albright is staying.

Her trip here is meant to lay the groundwork for a visit, perhaps next month, by President Bill Clinton as he seeks to enlarge his diplomatic legacy before leaving office in January.

"The U.S. secretary of state's visit to North Korea itself is a historic event and I am very pleased," Mr. Kim told his American counterpart.

"I thank you for arranging a meeting between Vice Marshal Jo Myong-rok and President Bill Clinton," he added, referring to the meeting in Washington early this month.

The last-minute changes forced cancellation of the first-day schedule for the secretary of state in Pyongyang, including talks with Mr. Jo and the North's ceremonial head of state, Kim Young-nam, as well as a visit to an acrobatic circus.

Kim Jong-il also hosted a dinner that was to have been initially held by his right-hand man, Mr. Jo.

Some North Korean watchers said Pyongyang was making its best effort to impress Mrs. Albright, who is the most senior U.S. official to visit the North since the creation of the communist state some 50 years ago.

"The North's move can be seen as a an intention not to become obsessed with minor issues and to make big decisions at a high level," a government source in Seoul said.

But at least one North Korea analyst did not put much emphasis on the changes in the initial schedule.

"As it has not been so long since the U.S. secretary of state held talks with Vice Marshal Jo in Washington, the only thing left is talks with the North Korean leader," that analyst said.

The details of the talks were not known, but Mrs. Albright was likely to have expressed U.S. concern over the North's missile program and terrorism, with the North anxious to see its name off the State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism.

Although South Korean government officials warned against excessive expectations over the visit, conciliatory signs by both sides showed a possibility of "some progress" in the raft of issues to be resolved.

On her arrival, Mrs. Albright paid her respects to the late Kim Il-sung, the founder of the communist state, a move that was considered by officials here to be "positive."

by Kim Jin