Kim Jong Il has met with Chinese president Hu

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il may have met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday, South Korea's official news agency reported.

An unnamed South Korean official said government intelligence indicated that Kim and Hu met on Friday in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

Reports from multiple news sources indicated that Kim arrived in China Thursday, though neither China nor North Korea have confirmed the trip.

Kim's visit coincided with former President Jimmy Carter's trip to North Korea, during which Carter secured the release of a U.S. citizen who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing over the Chinese border into North Korea.

That man, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, arrived home Friday afternoon in Boston, Massachusetts with Carter.

Carter, who arrived in North Korea on Wednesday, did not make any comments about his trip, which was shrouded in speculation over whether he would meet with Kim.

"At the request of President Carter, and for humanitarian purposes, Mr. Gomes was granted amnesty by the chairman of the National Defense Commission, Kim Jong Il," said a statement from the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Korea Herald, citing television station YTN, said Kim might be visiting with top Chinese officials to discuss handing power to his youngest son, Jong-un.

Kim is accompanied by his son, YTN reported, quoting a South Korean government official.

Kim spent five days in China in May and had a summit with the Chinese president.