Rodong Sinmun Monday says this in a signed article.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il's recent visit to China marked a significant event as it helped further deepen the comradeship between the two parties and leaders of the DPRK and China and put the traditional DPRK-China friendship on a higher level, the article notes, and goes on:

Through his recent China visit he provided a fresh landmark of the unbreakable DPRK-China friendship, a precious wealth common to the peoples of the DPRK and China, and injected inexhaustible energy into the DPRK-China relations in the new century heading for steady progress.

His historic visit to China serves as a reliable foundation and a precious source for developing the solid friendship between the two parties and peoples of the DPRK and China.

Through his China visit he set a living example in boosting the friendly relations among the countries desirous of solidarity and cooperation under the banner of independence and made a great contribution to protecting peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world and advancing the popular masses' cause of independence, the cause of socialism.

Kim Jong Il's visit to China dealt a blow at the imperialists pursuing a wild ambition for hegemony and world domination, engrossed in high-handed and arbitrary practices, and instilled confidence and courage into the people struggling to materialize the noble idea common to humankind -- independence, peace and friendship.