Kim Yong Il, alternate member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea who is heading the WPK delegation, paid a courtesy call on Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People on Monday.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il attached great importance to the Sino-DPRK friendship and strived hard to carry forward and develop it, Hu said, and went on:

Kim Jong Il stressed the need to hand over the baton of this friendship, saying it is solid.

Through the talks and meetings with him both sides attained an important common understanding of boosting exchange and cooperation in various fields and sharing common views on international issues.

The feats he performed for the strengthening of the traditional Sino-DPRK friendship will last forever.

Hu said the Fourth WPK Conference and the fifth session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly, which were held at a time when the centenary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung was being marked, were great events of weighty significance in promoting the party construction and the socialist cause.

We are pleased with the achievements made by the Korean people in building a thriving socialist nation, rallied close around the WPK headed by Comrade Kim Jong Un true to the behests of Kim Jong Il, he noted.

He expressed belief that the party, government and people of the DPRK would make new steady successes under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.

The traditional Sino-DPRK friendship has become common wealth as it was provided and brought into bloom by the revolutionaries of the elder generation of the two parties and two countries, Hu said, and continued:

The international situation has become complicated recently but the Sino-DPRK friendship is steadily growing stronger.

It is the steadfast policy of the Chinese party and government to attach great importance to the traditional Sino-DPRK friendship and steadily develop it.