By Kim Young-jin, Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporters
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly held a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao Wednesday, amid speculation that Kim could offer to return to the six-party denuclearization talks in exchange for badly-needed economic aid.
As of 11 p.m., Chinese authorities had made no official comment on the details of the meeting, but the two leaders are presumed to have discussed resuming the six-way negotiations and assistance to the reclusive North.
Around 6 p.m., a motorcade believed to be carrying Kim was seen entering the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the two leaders are said to have held secrecy-shrouded talks.
Analysts in Seoul said Hu could have offered assistance as an incentive for Kim to return to the denuclearization table. He could have also urged him to curb the reclusive state's provocative behavior toward South Korea in a bid to increase stability in the volatile but economically vibrant region.
However, prospects for the resumption of the talks remain in limbo as the investigation into the March 26 sinking of the South Korean Navy ship Cheonan near the inter-Korean maritime border continues.
Pyongyang has denied involvement, but speculation over its role has been rampant after Seoul's Ministry of Defense said a torpedo was the likely cause of the disaster.
Analysts said that the two leaders may have exchanged opinions about the sinking of the warship after an unexplained explosion in the West Sea on March 26.
The North Korean leader's visit comes just a few days after President Lee Myung-bak made a trip to Beijing for a summit.
On Tuesday, President Lee described the incident as no ``simple accident.''
South Korean officials have said that Seoul will not take part in talks until an investigation into the sinking is concluded, and could, in the case of North Korean culpability, move to suspend them as a punitive measure.
The United States, a major player in negotiations that also involve Japan and Russia, has downplayed any possibility that desire by North Korea to resume the talks could be hampered by Seoul's reluctance.
``I would assume that the ongoing investigation by South Korea will be finished before North Korea makes a decision to return to the six-party process,'' State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, Tuesday.
The North Korean leader and his delegation arrived in Beijing after touring the thriving port cities of Dalian and Tianjin.
The Kim-Hu summit, their first since 2006, comes at a time of renewed tension on the Korean Peninsula and amid growing suspicion the North was behind the sinking of the Cheonan.
It also comes as Kim desperately needs economic aid from China to prop up an economy struggling due to mismanagement and tightened international sanctions incurred as a result of missile and nuclear tests a year ago.
Sources said the two leaders will likely attend the North Korean opera ``Hongrumong'' today, which will be performed by some 200 North Korean actors in a theater in the Chinese capital.
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