A Russian Broadcasting Station reported Wednesday that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's emphasis on the need to introduce a "new thinking," as carried in the North Korean news organ Rodong Shinmun on January 4th, could be interpreted as signaling in new lines of reform and openness.

The Russian broadcast, monitored in Seoul, said that Kim Jong il's demand for resolving all pending issues from a new standpoint and new perspectives could mean that he would push the drive for a system change and restructuring to overcome the current economic hardships.

It added that it has confirmed by way of Chinese Communist Party authorities that the North Korean party secretary general is now staying in Shanghai, China.