Society

The presumptive future leader of North Korea has embarked on an official trip to China, South Korean media reported on Friday, although government officials in Seoul could not confirm the visit was under way.

Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, traveled Friday morning to Jilin Province, in northeastern China, according to anonymous sources cited by the Yonhap news agency and the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

North Korea experts have expected that the younger Mr. Kim would make an official visit to China, the North’s principal ally, although the scope and itinerary of the trip were not immediately clear.

The trip was not mentioned by the official North Korean news agency.

“In the past, the pattern is that these trips are only confirmed by the Chinese authorities or the North Korean state media after the visit is over and the schedule of events has been completed,” said a Unification Ministry official in Seoul who was not authorized to speak publicly about the trip. “We have seen the reports about Kim Jong-un’s trip but we cannot confirm that the trip is taking place.”

The size and roster of Mr. Kim’s entourage was not immediately known, although the Chosun Ilbo report, which cited an anonymous government official in Seoul, said he was accompanied by his uncle, Jang Song-taek. Mr. Jang, the husband of Kim Jong-il’s sister, is said to control the day-to-day political affairs of the country.

Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be 28 or 29, first emerged publicly last autumn, when he was given the rank of four-star general along with two significant political posts. He has clearly solidified his position as the heir apparent since then, appearing with his father on public visits to farms and factories and at major political gatherings.

YOU’VE HEARD of the One Child Policy in China. Now get ready for the One Dog Policy.

Growing irritation with dog excrement on the streets, fears about rabies and public anger at people abandoning unwanted puppies when they grow up, means China’s largest city Shanghai, is embarking on a massive crackdown to control the number of dogs.

Shanghai has a canine population of 800,000 and a human population of 23 million, but only around 140,000 of the dogs are registered and city officials say that since 2006, Shanghai has recorded at least 100,000 dog attacks each year.

From now on, people can only have one pooch or pay for the privilege. Any additional unregistered dogs will be turned over to government shelters, and owners who don’t comply face a potential 3,000 yuan (€327) fine.

The number of Internet users in China, already the world’s largest online market, hit 477 million at the end of March, a senior government official was quoted by state media as saying Monday.

The official from the Telecommunications Administration Bureau, which falls under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, announced the figure at a meeting in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

The number of people using the Internet in China had hit 457 million at the end of 2010, meaning that more than one-third of its 1.3 billion-strong population were online.

US President Barack wants young Americans to prepare for tough competition in a new world from kids in India and China with better education, saying: "I'm standing here as president because of the education that I received."

"We live in a new world" he told new graduates of a high school in Memphis, Tennessee, warning that when they leave college in four years, they'll be competing for jobs not just against Americans but with the youths in Beijing and Mumbai.

"You're competing against young people in Beijing and Mumbai. That's some tough competition," he said. "Those kids are hungry. They're working hard. And you'll need to be prepared for it."