Whos included in entourage?

By Kim Se-jeong

Staff reporter

An entourage accompanying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on his visit to China includes Kim Yang-geon, who is in charge of inter-Korean and North Korea-China relations, a source in Seoul said Wednesday.

Kim, director of the North's Unification Front, visited Seoul last year in his capacity as a member of a six-man delegation for the funeral of the late former President Kim Dae-jung.

He also leads an organization to attract foreign investment. In the past, Kim accompanied Kim Jong-il on his Beijing trip in 2000 and 2001.

He was also present at a meeting between former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Kim Jong-il last year when Clinton flew to Pyongyang to secure the release of two reporters.

The entourage also includes Choi Tae-bok, a key figure in science and technology, the source said.

He showed up at a national celebration of the launch of the North's first satellite in April last year.

One month later, he attended an event that celebrated the success of its nuclear test.

Others included Kim Yong-chun, the highest figure in the North Korean military equivalent to South Korea's defense minister.

He usually accompanies Kim Jong-il during inspections of military units.

He met with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, Chinese in Pyongyang last November.

The biggest question, however, is whether Kim Jong-un, 27, the third son of Kim Jong-il, known as heir apparent, has joined his father on the trip. Nothing has been confirmed yet.

The North Korean leader's first trip abroad since his reported stroke in 2008 has been widely reported, but so far, neither North Korea nor China has officially confirmed it.

김정일 수행원은 누구?

중국을 방문중인 기정일 국방위원장의 수행원에는 남-북 및 북-중 관계를 맡고 있는 김양건이 들어 있다고 서울의 한 소식통이 수요일 밝혔다.

북한 통일 전선 부장인 김은 고 김대중 대통령 장례식 때 6명의 조문 사절의 일원으로 지난해 서울을 방문했다.

해외투자 유치 기관을 주도하고 있는 그는 2000년과 2001년 김정일 베이징 방문시에도 수행했다.

그 외에 과학 기술의 핵심 인물인 최태석, 남한의 국방장관에 해당하는 김양춘도 들어 있다. 그러나 아들이자 세속 서열 1순위로 알려진 정운(27)씨가 동행했는지는 알려지지 않았다.