Party and state leaders and people of China accorded with utmost sincerity warm welcome and cordial hospitality to leader Kim Jong Il who visited China again for boosting the DPRK-China friendship.

Kim Jong Il toured the northeastern part of China.

The first leg of his visit was Dalian City in the southern part of Liaoning Province.

He was warmly greeted in Dalian by Li Keqiang, standing member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice-premier of the State Council, upon the authorization of Hu Jintao and the CPC Central Committee.

Also present there were Wang Min, secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the CPC; Wang Jiarui, head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee; Liu Zhijun, minister of Railways; Liu Hongcai, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK; Chen Zhenggao, governor of Liaoning Province; Xia Deren, secretary of the Dalian City Committee of CPC; Li Wancai, mayor of Dalian; and other leading party and government officials of the capital and Liaoning Province and Dalian City.

Kim Jong Il met and had a talk with Li Keqiang.

On behalf of Hu Jintao and the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, Li Keqiang warmly welcomed Kim Jong Il to Dalian which was visited by President Kim Il Sung in 1983.

Noting that the five visits paid by Kim Jong Il to China in the new century clearly prove how much he values the DPRK-China friendship provided and fostered by the leaders of the elder generation of the two countries, Li Keqiang highly praised him for having made a great contribution to steadily boosting the China-DPRK friendship.

Thanks to the leadership of Kim Jong Il the Korean people have achieved spectacular successes in the efforts to build a great prosperous and powerful nation and achieve the reunification of the country and in foreign affairs and other fields, Li said, adding that the Chinese people are rejoiced over these achievements as over their own and sincerely hail them.

The collective leadership of China including Hu Jintao is attaching utmost importance to the China-DPRK friendship, he said, re-clarifying the steadfast stand of the Chinese party and government to steadily boost the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Kim Jong Il said that he was very pleased to see for himself while visiting China the progress made by Dalian City making a new history of modernization in the land of China through its hard struggle. He expressed thanks to the leading officials and people of Liaoning Province and Dalian City for warmly welcoming him.

Li Keqiang gave a grand banquet in honor of Kim Jong Il.

Conducted by leading officials of the capital, province and city including Li Keqiang, Wang Min, Wang Jiarui, Liu Zhijun, Liu Hongcai, Chen Zhenggao, Xia Deren and Li Wancai, Kim Jong Il visited several units and commanded the night bird's-eye view of Dalian City whose appearance has undergone a remarkable change.

He visited the Dalian Bingshan Group, the Dalian Locomotive Production Company, the Liaoning Fishery Group and the Dalian Xuelong Industry Group all in the process of technological updating and congratulated the workers of those industrial establishments on the successes made in building a great many structures to go down in the history of the country.

Noting that he was deeply impressed to see the changes that have taken place in Dalian City making harmonious progress at the level of cutting-edge science full of energy after doing away with the centuries-old backwardness, he said that the rapid development made by the northeastern region including Dalian City clearly proves the validity and vitality of the strategy for developing the northeastern region laid down by the Chinese party and government.

Wang Min hosted a grand banquet in honor of Kim Jong Il visiting Dalian City, and Liaoning Province and Dalian City presented him with gifts.

Kim Jong Il expressed thanks to Li Keqiang for having kindly greeted him in Dalian City far away from Beijing despite the pressure of his work, given a grand banquet and provided every sincerity and convenience by accompanying him in the whole period of his visit. He also thanked leading officials of the province and the city for having accorded sincere and cordial hospitality to him.

The next leg of his visit was Tianjin, one of China's four municipalities, which is situated in the northeastern part of the plains of Huapei.

Kim Jong Il was greeted by Zhang Gaoli, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the CPC, Huang Xingguo, mayor of Tianjin, and other party and government leading officials of the municipality.

He had a cordial talk with Zhang Gaoli.

Zhang Gaoli said it was a great honor of Tianjin Municipality that Kim Jong Il visited again the municipality associated with the giant footprints of President Kim Il Sung, a close friend of the Chinese people, and warmly welcomed his visit to the municipality.

Saying that Kim Jong Il's current visit to China is another event of historic significance in the development of the bilateral relations, Zhang Gaoli expressed deep respect for him who has made great efforts to strengthen and develop the Sino-Korean friendship.

He highly appreciated what the Korean people have done in building a great prosperous and powerful nation and briefed the Korean guests on the development of Tianjin Municipality.

Kim Jong Il, conducted by Zhang Gaoli, Wang Jiarui, Huang Xingguo, Liu Hongcai and other senior officials of China and the municipality, visited Tianjin Port.

After looking round the port, which has turned into a large-scale, modern one, and the city full of vim and vigor, he expressed great appreciation of the tremendous changes undergone by the city in years and warmly congratulated the leading officials and working people of the city on their wonderful achievements.

Zhang Gaoli arranged a grand banquet at a state guesthouse to welcome Kim Jong Il's visit to the municipality.

The leader of the DPRK received a sincere and warm welcome from Chinese people wherever he went in China.

Touring northeastern China, he acquainted himself with the thought and sentiments of the diligent and intelligent Chinese people and the economic, cultural and all other sectors there.

The unofficial visit to the PRC paid by him this time for the continued development of the DPRK-China friendship was successfully conducted thanks to the particular care and cordial hospitality shown by Hu Jintao and the Chinese party and government.

Kim Jong Il expressed satisfaction over the result of his visit and extended heartfelt thanks to the leading cadres of the Chinese party and government for their cordial hospitality.

During his visit to China he was accompanied by Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Yong Chun who is also vice-chairman of the NDC of the DPRK, Secretaries of the WPK Central Committee Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam, First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Sok Ju, Department Directors Jang Song Thaek, Kim Yong Il and Kim Yang Gon and First Vice Department Director Ju Kyu Chang of the WPK Central Committee, Department Directors of the NDC of the DPRK Hyon Chol Hae and Ri Myong Su, Chief Secretary of the North Phyongan Provincial Committee of the WPK Kim Phyong Hae and Chief Secretary of the South Hamgyong Provincial Committee of the WPK Thae Jong Su.