Kim Jong-Il to meet Jiang tomorrow

North Korean Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il, visiting Shanghai, is scheduled to leave Friday by train for Beijing and meet with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, it was learned Thursday.

At the Kim-Jiang summit, the two leaders are expected to discuss their joint strategies with regard to Kim's planned visit to Seoul this spring and the incoming George W. Bush administration.

Earlier, the North Korean leader visited the Pudong district in Shanghai, a financial center symbolizing China's reform and openness, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park and major foreign investment firms including GM and NEC. He showed great interest in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and automobiles.

Reliable sources said that Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji accompanied Kim¡¯s NEC visit. During his tour of Shanghai, Kim held talks with Zhu twice and exchanged views on China's operation of the special economic zones.

In a meeting with the Chinese prime minister at the International Convention Center, Kim said that his government would set up a North Korean trade representative in Shanghai and send many economic ministers to the booming Chinese port city to learn its foreign venture experiences, the related city officials said.