North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has told Chinese officials that his country remains committed to denuclearization through six-nation talks, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.
"The sincerity of relevant parties to resume the six-party talks is very important," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Kim as telling Wang Jiarui, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, dpa reported.
He said North Korea was "willing to make efforts with China to further strengthen the communication and coordination" over the six-party negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
Wang gave Kim a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao, saying that China wanted the two nations to "make joint efforts ... to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," the agency said.
Hu invited Kim to visit China, but the agency did not say if Kim accepted the invitation.
Pyongyang walked out of the six-way talks involving South Korea, North Korea, Russia, the United States, China and Japan in April, insisting that UN sanctions be lifted as a condition to returning to the negotiating table.
North Korea committed to denuclearization, Kim Jong Il tells China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has told Chinese officials that his country remains committed to denuclearization through six-nation talks, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.