Kim Jong-Il gets the royal treatment in Beijing as Hu raises price for handling North Korea
A diplomatic solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis has become more illusory than ever after the high-level reception that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership accorded "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-Il last week.
All nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) were on hand to greet Kim, a high level of protocol reserved for China’s “lips-and-teeth” ally.