You, Comrade Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, have visited China with the friendly feelings of the Korean party, government and people toward their Chinese counterparts in this beautiful spring season.

I, on behalf of the party, government and all the people of China, warmly welcome your visit to China.

It is my belief that your current visit to China would be recorded in the history of the development of the bilateral relations as an important occasion in boosting the traditional friendship.

Last year our two countries grandly celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-DPRK diplomatic relations and held successful events to mark the "year of China-DPRK friendship," the first of its kind in history, demonstrating the vibrant bilateral ties.

The six-decade-long history has proved that the bilateral relations can certainly make steady progress, weathering difficulties caused by the complicated international situation, if the two countries adhere to the correct orientation of the development of the bilateral relations in the spirit of "inheriting tradition, facing up to the future, building good neighborly friendship and strengthening cooperation", help and cooperate with each other for mutual benefits and common prosperity from a broad perspective and in a far-sighted way, jointly push forward the socialist cause through an active exchange of views and close collaboration and pool efforts to defend interests common to the two countries and the two peoples.

The traditional China-DPRK friendship is a valuable asset of the two parties, the two countries and the two peoples and it is, therefore, our historic responsibility to advance the friendship with the passage of time and convey it down through generations.

The Chinese party and government have consistently defended and developed the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries on a strategic level, attaching utmost importance to them.

It is an unshakable policy of the party and government of China to steadily boost the bilateral friendship and cooperation.

They will exert joint efforts with their Korean counterparts to make a greater contribution to putting the relations between the two countries on a new, higher level, bringing bigger happiness to the two peoples and achieving a lasting peace and common prosperity in the region.

The diligent and resourceful Korean people are now working hard to greet the 65th anniversary of the WPK with fresh achievements.

We, as your friendly neighbor, dear comrade and true friend, sincerely hope that the DPRK would enjoy political stability, make economic growth and bring a happy life to its people.

I believe that the Korean people, under the resolute leadership of the WPK headed by you, would explore a road of development suited to the actual conditions of the country and certainly register fresh and greater achievements in their cause of building a great prosperous and powerful nation.