Top Chinese and North Korean leaders held talks on the last day of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's unofficial visit to China, focusing on bilateral cooperation and the early resumption of nuclear talks.
Kim left Beijing Thursday after meeting with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao and other leading officials.
During Kim's dialogue with Hu, he said that North Korea hopes to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, will remain committed to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and believes that the Six-Party Talks should be resumed at an early date, Xinhua said.
Hu said during the meeting that China maintains that the related parties should continuously seek to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to achieve denuclearization.
Kim's trip overlapped with Wen's meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Tokyo on Sunday. Lee said that the South appreciates the active role that China has played in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, adding that his country hoped to maintain close communication with China.
Yang Bojiang, an expert on Northeast Asia issues at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that China has long been an intermediary between the two Koreas by holding negotiations with both sides.
Kim's latest visit apparently had joint political and economic purposes. Kim's visits to the cities that his father Kim Il-sung also took in, aimed to further promote the North's relations during the 50th anniversaries of the Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty, Yang said.
In his meeting with Hu, Kim expressed that North Korea is now concentrating its attention and resources on economic development, and is in great need of a stable neighboring environment, Xinhua reported.
It was reported that Kim saw projects related to industrial production, technology development, trade and public livelihood during his week-long visit to Chinese cities, Xinhua said.
Kim's visit focused on local enterprises and industries, because he knew which strategies and reforms would be suitable for his country's development, Yang explained.
According to the Korea Joongang Daily, Kim intended to reduce dependence on South Korea through more cooperation with China.
However, Yang believed the US and South Korea's rather harsh policy and position toward the North have pushed Pyongyang to find other partners to enhance its domestic economic development.