NK special envoy in Beijing

By Kim Tae-gyu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s close aide, Vice Marshall Choe Ryong-hae, arrived in Beijing as a special envoy Wednesday.

The North’s state media uncharacteristically disclosed the visit.

Choe is visiting the North’s only ally at a time when their relationship is strained in the aftermath of the North’s nuclear test early this year and a month ahead of President Park Geun-hye’s planned visit to China.

“Choe has left Pyongyang to visit China as a special envoy of Kim,” the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said. He arrived in Beijing around 10:30 a.m.

Choe, known as Kim’s military mentor, is the most senior North Korean official to visit China since Kim’s uncle Jang Song-thaek’s trip in August.

China watchers are keenly interested in knowing if he will deliver a letter from Kim to Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping.

Choe is expected to have the first high-profile meeting between the two countries since last November when Chinese Politburo member Li Jianguo delivered a letter from Xi.

Xi has reportedly treated the North coolly since it launched a missile last December and conducted a third nuclear test this February.

Beijing also supported toughened U.N. sanctions on North Korea

Xi has differed from his predecessors by not sticking to Beijing’s traditional ties with Pyongyang. China previously sided with North Korea even after it conducted underground atomic tests in 2006 and 2009.

“North Korea will want to normalize its political and diplomatic relationship with China as well as asking for the supply of more power and food,” Sejong Institute researcher Paik Hak-soon said.

“In addition, Kim will jockey to coordinate stances with Xi before the Chinese leader meets his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama and South Korean President Park.”

Chang Yong-seok, an analyst at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies affiliated with Seoul National University, agreed.

“The relationship between Pyongyang and Beijing reached its lowest point of late since Beijing established diplomatic relationships with Seoul in the early 1990s,” Chang said.

“At a time when tensions show signs of easing on the Korean Peninsula, the chances are that North Korea will hope to repair its ties with China while attempting to garner more aid.”

Separately, Kim named former North Korean armed forces minister Kim Kyok-sik as chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army. The 75-year-old hard-line general previously held the military chief post from 2007 through 2009.

The appointment was confirmed by the North Korean media, which gave Kim’s title without offering other details such as when he was tapped for the position.