North Korea's Kim in likely top-level talks in China

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il on Wednesday visited the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, setting the stage for talks that Kim will hope will be a show of Chinese support for his isolated state.

Neither China nor North Korea has openly confirmed secretive Kim's visit, but after his train arrived, a motorcade swept down central Beijing's Chang'an Avenue under unusually tight police guard, suggesting he was in the Chinese capital.

In the afternoon, the motorcade, including a long Mercedes Benz, sped from the walled-off Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to the Great Hall of the People, the parliament building next to Tiananmen Square where foreign leaders are often received.

This would be the third trip to China in just over a year for Kim, who in past years rarely travelled abroad and then only in his personal train. He is believed to be scared of flying.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Kim was in Beijing "apparently for a summit meeting" with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who received Kim on both his visits last year.

Impoverished North Korea has been scouring the world for food aid and analysts say Kim is keen to ensure China's support for his youngest son to eventually take over the family dynasty that has ruled the North since its founding.

Kim will also want diplomatic support from China, his country's sole major supporter, said Cai Jian, a professor of Korean studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

"It's unlikely, but not out of question, that a national leader would directly stretch out his hand for economic aid," said Cai.

"So I would think that what he's seeking is more diplomatic and political support. For example, in dealing with South Korea and the United States," he said.

As ties with South Korea and most of the outside world have frayed, Pyongyang has leaned more on Beijing for economic and diplomatic support.

NUDGING KIM ON REFORM, NUCLEAR DISPUTE

Beijing sees North Korea as a buffer against the U.S. and its regional allies, and it has sought to shore up ties in recent years with more aid and trade and visits.

China's fear that the 69-year-old Kim's death or infirmity could trigger instability in North Korea has magnified its desire to strengthen influence in Pyongyang while Kim readies the way for his son, Kim Jong-un, to take over, say many analysts.

China has also prodded North Korea's leaders to advance reforms to revive their tattered economy.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Tokyo on the weekend that Kim was in China to study "economic development.

"At most, he could learn from China to carry out some limited reforms that would help North Korea overcome some difficulties," said Cai, the Shanghai-based expert. "But a big jump-start in development is not possible."

Beijing has also used Kim's visits to urge him to return to negotiations aimed at ending his nuclear weapons programme. North Korea alarmed the region with atomic test blasts in 2006 and 2009 that drew U.N. sanctions backed by Beijing.

China has sought to defuse confrontation by hosting six-party nuclear disarmament talks since August 2003, but the talks have been stalled for over two years. They bring together North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

Kim's latest train journey to China began on Friday and took him through the northeast to the prosperous eastern province of Jiangsu.

Kim visited China last year in early May and then in August. In the past, neither side openly confirmed his visits until they were over.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley in BEIJING and Jeremy Laurence in SEOUL; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Nick Macfie)