President Hu Jintao
met on Tuesday with visiting top legislator Kim Yong Nam, chairman
of the Presidium of Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), saying that China is
ready to strengthen warm and cooperative relations.
Kim arrived in Beijing Monday morning for an official goodwill
visit to China.
Hu and Kim exchanged views cordially in discussions that
included the Korean nuclear issue. Both expressed a desire to
continue working to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons and to
seek a peaceful solution and maintain stability through
dialogue.
Applauding the longstanding friendship between China and North
Korea as strong asset of both nations, Hu said China places a high
value on the development of their relationship.
He said that by maintaining their tradition of facing the future
side by side, the Communist Party of China and the Workers' Party
of Korea will continue to improve cooperation. China is also ready
for enhanced coordination with North Korea in regional and
international affairs, he added.
Kim praised the policy of friendship that China has pursued
towards his country and said that, in a complex and ever-changing
international situation, North Korea will work to strengthen their
friendship and push pragmatic cooperation to a new level.
This is the firm policy of the North Korean government and the
Workers' Party of Korea, said Kim.??
(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2004)