The announcement that Xi Jinping is sending Song Tao, head of the CPC Central Committee's International Department, to North Korea has people wondering if something is cooking around the North Korea crisis.

The official announcements in Chinese and English were brief:

Xi's special envoy to visit DPRK - Xinhua:

Song Tao, special envoy of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Xi Jinping, will leave for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday.

Song, head of the CPC Central Committee's International Department, will inform the DPRK of the 19th CPC National Congress and visit the DPRK.

习近平总书记特使宋涛将赴朝鲜通报中共十九大情况

新华社北京11月15日电 中共中央总书记习近平特使、中共中央对外联络部部长宋涛将于11月17日赴朝鲜通报中共十九大情况并访问朝鲜

Song, supposedly a favorite of Xi, has as part of his job oversight of relations with foreign political parties. He has already visited Vietnam and Laos to brief officials on the 19th Communist Party congress. His predecessors visited North Korea after previous Party Congre…