CHINA: North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il held secret meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing yesterday. He said Pyongyang would give up its nuclear weapons programme only if the US was more forthcoming with economic aid.
China is one of the hard-line Stalinist state's few friends and Mr Kim arrived in Beijing by train on a secret four-day visit. He also met former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who remains head of the army.
Washington is keen for China to use its position as the North's last major ally, and the leading supplier of food and energy aid for its flagging economy, to put pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
Mr Kim's trip comes amid efforts to resume six-nation talks on the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, and set up working groups agreed after the last round of talks in February.
China, which is acting as honest broker in the talks, is keen for another meeting before July. The US, South Korea, Japan and Russia are also taking part in the discussions.
Mr Kim was received in the Great Hall of the People, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, although no official details of the meeting were released.
Mr Kim wanted to "express North Korea's concern over a possible invasion by the US and his country's intention to increase self-defence measures", it reported.
Mr Kim also wants China to help persuade Washington to "abandon its hostile policy against the North" and "seek a peaceful solution" to the issue.
Chinese officials declined to confirm or deny the visit.
Washington wants the isolated communist state, which is on President Bush's list of "rogue states", to stop building nuclear weapons.
Last week, US Vice-President Dick Cheney visited China and called on Beijing to do more to defuse Pyongyang's nuclear threat. US officials say Beijing has told Washington it is holding talks with Mr Kim.
One US official said Mr Cheney gave Beijing fresh evidence from a Pakistani scientist suggesting North Korea had at least three nuclear devices and was capable of making them from both plutonium and enriched uranium.
North Korea insists it does not have a secret enriched uranium weapons scheme in addition to the plutonium-based programme.
Pyongyang wants its regional security concerns addressed, as well as economic aid to boost its almost bankrupt economy.
On Monday Mr Kim had lunch with President Hu Jintao and was also expected to meet the Prime Minister, Mr Wen Jiabao, before a farewell party hosted by Mr Hu.
While the other goals of Mr Kim's visit remained a mystery, the leader of the world's only communist dynasty may be eager to win Beijing's support for his fledgling market reforms and nuclear position.
Since taking over power in 1994 from his late father President Kim Il Sung, Mr Kim has struggled to prop up the North's economy.
Generally dressed in grey or olive green Mao suits, he is a mysterious figure. He has a phobia about flying and makes any long-distance journeys in a train, which reportedly has 21 carriages and carries on board a batch of specially flown-in Bordeaux wines, lobster tanks and two armoured Mercedes cars.