Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement Monday on the demise of leader Kim Jong Il.

He said:

Upon hearing the sad news that Kim Jong Il, supreme leader of the DPRK, passed away to our sorrow, we express deep condolences over his demise and send sincere sympathy to the Korean people.

Kim Jong Il was the great leader of the Korean people and close friend of the Chinese people.

He made an important contribution to accomplishing the DPRK's cause of socialism and promoting the development of the Sino-Korean relations of good neighborliness, friendship and cooperation.

We believe the Korean people will surely overcome sorrow and display strength and courage and steadily advance the DPRK's cause of socialism by dint of single-minded unity.

Both China and the DPRK will as ever make joint efforts to make a positive contribution to steadily developing the traditional friendship between the two parties, two countries and two peoples and defending peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region.