The train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il on a visit to China appeared to be bound for Beijing on Saturday evening, South Korean media reported, prompting speculation that he would meet President Hu Jintao, according to dpa. The Yonhap news agency, citing multiple anonymous sources, said the train had passed through the north-eastern city of Shenyang at around 7 pm (11 00 GMT) and estimated that it would arrive in the capital early Sunday. On Saturday Kim toured a car plant in Changchun, a day after his arrival in the border city of Tumen for his third visit to North Korea's main ally and supporter in little over a year. During his last visit to China nine months ago, Kim held talks with Hu in Changchun. The reclusive 69-year-old leader appears to have recovered from the stroke he reportedly suffered in 2008. He visits farms and factories in the country he rules with an iron fist, but only rarely travels abroad. As North Korea struggles to feed its people and comes under pressure to give up its nuclear weapons program, Kim's visits to China are seen as attempts to bolster support for his isolated regime. There has been no official confirmation of Kim's trip. Previous trips were not confirmed by either the Chinese or North Korean governments until they had concluded. Earlier, South Korean media reports said Kim's son and likely successor, Kim Jong Un, was making the trip. But later reports said Kim Jong Un's name was not on the official travel list of the North Korean party. The United States said Friday it would dispatch a team to North Korea in the coming week to evaluate a recent request for food aid from the isolated country. Kim's latest China tour comes one day before the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan meet in Japan, where they are expected to discuss North Korea on the sidelines of their annual summit. Pyongyang is also under international pressure to rejoin the stalled six-party talks, which involve the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.
