Wen said that he was accorded the warm reception and cordial hospitality by the Workers' Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK during his visit to the DPRK last year that marked the diamond jubilee of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and the "year of the Sino-DPRK friendship."

He recalled with deep emotion that General Secretary Kim Jong Il personally accompanied him at various events and received him for a long time.

The Sino-DPRK friendship personally provided and cultivated by the leaders of the elder generation of the two countries is the friendship which stood the test of history and the friendship demonstrating fresh vitality as the days go by, he said, adding that it is the invariable policy of the party and government of China to steadily develop the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

Visiting the DPRK last year, I saw for myself the great successes made by it in socialist construction despite difficulties, he noted,

expressing sincere hope that the Korean people would develop economy and improve the people's standard of living to build a rich and powerful country.