The Chinese media reported that the purpose behind North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to China was to survey economic development as seen from his tour of three northeastern Chinese provinces.

An affiliated publication with the state-run Xinhua News, the International Herald Leader, focused its coverage on Kim’s visit to Jilin, Changchun and Harbin, which are located in close proximity to and have similar environments to North Korea. It said he concentrated on witnessing the economic development of these case study sites.

In addition, the newspaper hinted that Kim Jong-il’s third son and heir-apparent Kim Jong-un had accompanied his father to China. The paper stated that the reason Kim Jong-un was not visible in any television coverage was probably due to camera angles or the foreign media not recognizing him.