North Korea's supreme leader, Mr. Kim Jong Il, is a savvy politician. He knows how to get attention: His "secret" trip to China dominated international news even though there was no official confirmation he was visiting the country. The reclusive leader will need all his skills as he tries to maximize North Korean leverage as pressure mounts to resume the multilateral negotiations over his country's nuclear-weapons program.

Apparently, there is an agreement between Beijing and Pyongyang not to announce visits by Mr. Kim until he has returned home. While that delayed the Chinese Foreign Ministry's comments on his trip, it did not silence the speculation over the purpose of his nine-day visit. Stops in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province, the heart of China's export machine, and Mr. Kim's praise of their economic progress, suggest that economic reform topped Mr. Kim's concerns.

Emulating the Chinese example is another matter, however. While North Korea is desperately poor and has experimented with limited economic reform, the process has been fitful at best. Market reforms implemented a few years ago -- after another of Mr. Kim's trips to China -- have been rolled back in recent months. It appears as though the country's political system -- and its domination by Mr. Kim and his allies in the military -- cannot absorb the inevitable side effects of even limited reforms.