
 China is the only major power isolated North Korea can count
 on as an ally. Jong-un is North Korean leader Kim Jong-il`s 
youngest son and heir apparent, who came into the public eye in
 September when he was named to a senior ruling party post and
 promoted to the rank of four-star general.

 South Korea`s spy agency believes Jong-un is likely to
 accept the invitation and visit Beijing soon, said the lawmaker 
who is a member of the parliament intelligence committee after a
 closed-door briefing on Friday.

 Senior officials from the spy agency attended the briefing, 
and members of parliament are asked not to disclose the
 information they were briefed on, the law maker said, declining 
to be identified.

 Little is known about Jong-un other than he is in his late
20s and had a Swiss education. South Korean officials said the
 North`s official media have been on a campaign to paint him as 
the person best fit for leadership of the state founded by his
 grandfather.

 The visit, if it takes place, will boost Jong-un`s standing
 as the North`s next leader, as China remains the reclusive
 North`s main economic and political backer.

 Jong-un is likely to ask China for large-scale economic aid
 when he visits, a Japanese newspaper reported earlier last week, 
adding he could go as early as this month, after the end of
 China`s National People`s Congress meeting.

 China has stood by the North even when Pyongyang was harshly
 criticised after the sinking of a South Korean navy ship last 
year, which Seoul blames on its neighbour, and the shelling of a
 South Korean island in November that killed four people. 
 Tensions peaked on the Korean peninsula after those attacks,
 with the rivals nations threatening war, but tensions have since
 eased and South Korea`s president has called for dialogue.
(*)
Editor: AA Ariwibowo
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
