SEOUL, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- CIA Chief Leon Panetta is visiting South Korea this weekend to discuss the North Korean transition as Kim Jong Il hands over power to his son, officials say.
An official with the Foreign Ministry said Friday Panetta would meet with President Lee Myung-bak, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Panetta is to be followed on Thursday by Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Talks with Campbell will be "aimed at exchanging opinions of the two countries on international, multinational and bilateral issues, not just one particular issue," the ministry official said.
Kim Jong-il signaled this week that his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, is his designated successor. The younger Kim was made a general and given important political posts.
Tensions between the two Koreas have become increasingly frosty. In March, 47 South Korean sailors died when a naval vessel was sunk near the border between their territorial waters. South Korea blames a North Korean torpedo while the North denies any role in the sinking.
