North Korea Leadership Watch

Research and Analysis on the DPRK Leadership

Jang Song Taek to Visit PRC this Weekend?

Chang So'ng-t'aek (Jang Song Taek)

Chang So’ng-t’aek (Jang Song Taek) will reportedly visit cities in and around Jilin Province, PRC, on Saturday [21 May].  If this trip occurs, it would be Chang’s first reported trip to the PRC since Kim Cho’ng-il’s visit in August 2010.  DPRK Premier Choe Yong-rim and CC KWP Secretary Choe T’ae-pok (Choe Tae Bok) visited northeastern China during 2010.  Yonhap reports:

Meanwhile, Kim’s brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, reportedly plans to visit China’s northeastern areas to discuss economic cooperation with China, the North’s key ally and main benefactor.

Jang, vice chairman of the North’s powerful National Defense Commission, plans to visit China on Saturday, according to sources in Dandong and Changchun, major cities in northeastern China.

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