N. Korean leader congratulates Hu on China's founding anniversary

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il vowed to solidify his
country's relations with China in a message sent Wednesday to Chinese President
Hu Jintao on the eve of the neighbor's 60th anniversary, state media said.
"The DPRK-China friendship is a treasured common wealth of the peoples of the two
nations," Kim was quoted by the Korean Central News Agency as saying in the
message. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's
official name.
"It is the consistent position of our party and the government of our republic to
treasure DPRK-China friendship that has undergone all kinds of historical
tribulations and continues to solidify and develop generation after generation,"
he said.
Kim called the founding of the People's Republic of China on Oct. 1 in 1959 a
"historic event" that fundamentally changed Chinese lives and their history. He
also praised China as a "distinctive socialist nation" that has successfully
taken root through "science-oriented development."
The message was jointly signed by senior leaders, Kim Yong-nam, president of the
Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and Premier Kim Yong-il, and sent to
their respective Chinese counterparts, Wu Bangguo and Wen Jiabao.
Wen is set to visit Pyongyang from Oct. 4-6 to attend the closing ceremony of the
"friendship year" marking the 60th anniversary of the two nations' diplomatic
relations. The Chinese premier is expected to meet with the North Korean leader
and discuss ways of resuscitating negotiations aimed at ending the North's
nuclear weapons program.
China's foreign ministry indicated Tuesday that its government would provide new
assistance to the North on the occasion of Wen's trip. The two nations will also
sign several deals ranging from economy and trade to education and tourism during
the visit, it said.
North Korea normalized ties with China on Oct. 6, 1949, just days after the
Chinese government was founded, as one of the first countries to do so.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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