Diplomat Says Kim Jong-il May Attend APEC Meeting

BEIJING - During his visit to North Korea on Sept. 3, President Jiang Zemin of China will recommend to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il that he participate in the summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, according to a knowledgeable diplomatic source here Sunday. The APEC meeting will be held in Shanghai in October.

Mr. Jiang reportedly decided to invite Mr. Kim to the meeting as an observer. According to that diplomat, China has already consulted with the United States on the matter and met no opposition. A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Seoul said he had no information on the matter, but another official here commented that the United States has long encouraged more contact by the reclusive North Korean leader with the outside world.

The origin of the idea is also a matter of speculation. Some observers in Beijing see Seoul's hand behind the idea of inviting Mr. Kim to the summit; according to them, China agreed to raise the idea because it sees it as a positive step toward political calm in Northeast Asia.

Other analysts, however, argue that China probably decided to pursue the invitation at its own initiative in order to boost the prestige of the Shanghai APEC summit. Both Korean President Kim Dae-jung and U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the meeting; if bilateral talks are arranged, they would be the second between the two Korean leaders and the first between leaders of the United States and North Korea.

The diplomat in Beijing said there is no way of telling whether North Korea will accept the proposed invitation. China, he said, will be careful to present the invitation in such a way that Pyongyang, noted for its prickly pride, will be able to present any decision to accept as unilateral and made without outside pressure.

Some observers in Beijing said the decision would depend on whether or not Mr. Kim wants to sit down with his counterpart in Seoul for a second meeting. They note that both Seoul and Washington would be careful to avoid a situation in which the North Korean leader met Mr. Bush but snubbed Kim Dae-jung.

by You Sang-chul