North Korean leader may come in April or May

National Intelligence Service director Lim Dong-Won said the Seoul government hopes North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il will visit Seoul in April or May, adding that Kim is expected to come here by year-end at the latest.

Lim told the National Assembly Intelligence Committee Tuesday that some gaps exist between the Seoul government and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in terms of their perceptions of North Korea.

In a briefing on conversations he had with U.S. officials during his visit to the United States Feb. 11-17, the Korean intelligence chief ascribed the differences to Washington`s use of a Western yardstick to measure North Korea. He said that South Koreans are more familiar with North Korean sentiment and ways of thinking thanks to the two sides` shared ethnicity.

When he met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Lim reportedly stressed that the primary responsibility for addressing problems of conventional arms rests with the two Koreas. Voicing grave concerns over North Korea`s suspected possession of powerful missiles, Powell advised Seoul against being "pushed around" by the North.

Kim Jung-Hoon jnghn@donga.com