Kim Jong Il welcomes Chinese premier to North Korea (1st Lead)

Beijing - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il welcomed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the start of a three-day visit to Pyongyang on Sunday, Chinese state media reported. The semi-official China News Service said Kim greeted Wen at Pyongyang's main airport as he arrived for a visit that was expected to focus on international efforts to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programme. Wen's trip was also timed to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China's ruling Communist Party and North Korea's Korean Workers' Party. 'To continuously consolidate and develop the friendly and cooperative relations between China and North Korea is the steadfast policy of the Chinese party and government,' the agency quoted Wen as saying in a written statement delivered at the airport. Wen said China was willing to make 'greater contributions for regional peace and stability' in North-east Asia. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted unidentified diplomatic sources in Seoul as saying that Kim could make an 'important announcement' at the end of Wen's visit, possibly a message of commitment to rejoining the six-party negotiations on its nuclear programme. Before Wen left China, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the two nations would sign 'some cooperative agreements on trade, education and tourism' during the first trip to North Korea by a Chinese premier for 18 years. Jiang said China had continued to provide North Korea with 'assistance within its capacity' to help the isolated nation to 'develop its economy and improve the livelihood of its people.' Wen planned to discuss 'international and regional issues of common interest' with North Korean leaders, she said. China wanted to cooperate with North Korea to 'bring the situation of the Korean Peninsula to a positive direction so as to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the region,' Jiang said. 'It is in the common interest of all parties to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' she said. In early September, Kim told a Chinese envoy that North Korea was committed to denuclearization and to 'peace and stability' on the Korean peninsula, Xinhua reported. Kim was quoted as saying North Korea was 'willing to solve problems through bilateral or multilateral talks.' His comments apparently signalled a commitment resume negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme through the long-standing six-nation talks, which also involve the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.