North Korean leader Kim Jong Il visited China for about seven days from May 20. It was his third visit to China in a year. He traveled more than 4,000 km on a special train. Both Beijing and Pyongyang are mum about his visit. But it seems that the main purpose of his visit was to appeal for economic cooperation from China.

He mainly visited economic development zones in China. His destinations included a solar power panel factory in Yangzhou and a liquid crystal factory in Nanjing, both in Jiangsu Province. And on May 25, he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing.

South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported the next day that China agreed to actively take part in North Korea's development project on Hwanggumpyong Island in the Yalu River (China-North Korea border).