By Kim Myong-song
April 25, 2018 10:45
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang on Monday to express his condolences over a bus accident that killed and injured dozens of Chinese tourists in North Korea the previous day, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
It was his first visit to the Chinese Embassy since he came into power. He also visited injured Chinese victims in hospital and told medical personnel to take good care of them.
The new caring image is being projected ahead of summits with South Korea and the U.S. and amid a thaw in relations with Beijing.
According to the state media, Kim visited the embassy at 6:30 a.m. Monday, only a few hours after the accident occurred. The previous night, a bus carrying the Chinese tourists crashed off a bridge, killing 32 Chinese and four North Koreans, and seriously injuring two.
Unusually, the state media reported every detail of Kim's itinerary.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (left) meets with Chinese Ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun at the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang, in this picture published by the Rodong Simun daily on Tuesday. /Yonhap
Kim paid his first visit to China on March 25-28, where he agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping to increase exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
Prof. Nam Sung-wook of Korea University speculated, "Kim apparently fears that relations with Beijing would sour again ahead of his summit with the U.S."
He also apparently wanted to quell anti-North Korean sentiment in China and damage to the North's paltry tourism industry.
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