The visit, which has not been announced by either
country, is highly unusual, coming just three months after the last visit of
Kim, who rarely travels and when he does goes by train. It came particularly as
a surprise because former US President Jimmy Carter is in North Korea and many
had speculated he would meet the leader.
But his stop in Jilin city in Jilin province in
northeastern China was confirmed by two teachers at the Yuwen Middle School.
"He definitely came over. But I'm not sure if his
son was with him or what time he came," said a physical education teacher
who would give only his surname Zhao.
Another teacher said Kim visited the school in the
morning for about 20 minutes. He refused to give his name.
Kim may be traveling with a son to consult with Chinese
officials on plans to transfer power to a successor, South Korea's Yonhap News
Agency and YTN television in Seoul said.
It's widely believed that Kim is preparing to transfer
power to his third and youngest son, Kim Jong Un, and many North Korea watchers
believe the son will be granted a key party position next month.
Kim's father, late President Kim Il Sung, attended the
school from 1927 to 1930 after his family fled the Japanese occupation of
Korea. At the time, Yuwen was a hot-bed of leftist thinking. Biographies of Kim
say that he began absorbing communist ideology while at Yuwen. In 1928, Kim
organized protests against "reactionary teachers" at Yuwen in
addition to demonstrations against Japan and the purchase of Japanese goods,
according to the Jilin government's website.
According to Yonhap, citing an unidentified high-ranking
Seoul official, Kim's special armored train crossed the border into China early
Thursday. YTN carried a similar report but said Kim arrived in China late
Wednesday night.
The surprise trip comes as Carter makes a rare visit to
North Korea on a private mission to secure the freedom of an imprisoned
American. There was no word on whether Carter - who met in 1994 with Kim Il Sung
- had been scheduled to meet the current leader.
There was no comment from China's Foreign Ministry or
from the Communist Party's international liaison department, which deals with
relations with North Korea.
North Korea announced in June that new ruling Workers'
Party leaders would be elected in early September, sparking speculation that
the move is aimed at boosting a government campaign to hand over power to a Kim
heir.
Speculation on the succession intensified after the
68-year-old Kim reportedly suffered a stroke in 2008. Kim's health problems
prompted concerns about instability and a possible power struggle in the
nuclear-armed country if he were to die without anointing a successor.
Kim last visited China in May, meeting top leaders,
including President Hu Jintao.
