BEIJING, May 20 (UPI) -- A train that crossed the North Korean border into China was believed to be carrying the head of state, Kim Jong Il, South Korean agencies said Friday.
The first reports suggested the private train was taking Kim's son and heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, to Beijing, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. But intelligence agencies later said the father was probably the passenger and they were unsure if his son was also on the trip.
If it is Kim, it would be the reclusive leader's third visit to China in a year. The Chinese government generally provides little or no information about his movements.
Zhang Liangui, a North Korea expert at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the Times Kim might be seeking economic assistance. Kim's government, for the first time in more than a decade, has been willing to admit the need for food aid.
"The North Korean economy isn't going well, and ordinary North Korean people are having difficulty in their lives," Zhang said.
