So is the Dear Leader now in China or not? Yesterday we got news that his train had reportedly crossed the Amnok (Yalu) River into Dandong (see here), but now we are getting reports that this bit of intelligence is being pooh-poohed. The evidence? The train in question was black, which is the color of North Korea's freight trains, while passenger trains in the DPRK are blue.

Really, does that mean anything? Given KJI's fears of assassination, it would be reasonable to assume that he might be trying to travel as incognito as possible. After all, it appears that a major assassination plot was perpetrated against him in April 2004, leaving thousands dead or injured. If I were the Dear Leader, I'd be traveling in a black train, not the blue of regular passenger trains or the golden-as-the-bright-sun-which-heralded-my-arrival-on-Earth that I normally travel in.

In fact, it almost sounds like someone is trying to cover up the possibility that he's in China now. I mean, the train in question obviously attracted some suspicion other than being a mere train, so this "oh, it's black, can't be a passenger train" logic leaves me wanting. Sure, it could all be a ruse, one way or the other, just enough to leave people scratching their heads and wondering if this is the right time to be launching an attack on him or on the country's naval bases on the west coast.

1. Visiting Beijing, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expected to seek aid from China (NYT)
   • Citing the black color of train thought to be carrying Kim Jong-il to Beijing, witnesses say it may be an ordinary freight train (Yonhap, Korea Times)
2. South Korea calls off search for sailors missing in Chonan sinking (BBC, , AP via WSJ)
   • Family members of missing asked government to call off search, citing dangerous conditions for rescue divers (Korea Times)
3. ROK Coast Guard finds bodies of two crewman of fishing boat that sunk in Yellow Sea near Chonan disaster site, one Indonesian and one South Korean (Yonhap)
4. Prosecutors request five-year prison term for former prime minister Han Myungsook (Korea Times)
5. Naver parent company to buy Japan's Livedoor (Reuters, Bloomberg)
6. Google to stop offering games for Android in South Korean market, in response to ROK ban on unrated games (Yonhap)
7. In rare April Fool's Day practical joke by Kim Jong-il, invitations are sent to 2,002 officers for special showing of Avatar at 2,000-seat Pyongyang People's Cinemadrome (Yonhap) 

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