The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong-il, expressed his hope on Wednesday that the relations between his country and China and the two armies will keep developing smoothly.

Kim Jong-il made the remarks while meeting with a Chinese high-level military delegation led by Xu Caihou, a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and a member of the Central Military Commission and director of the PLA General Political Department.

In spite of the complicated situation around the Korean Peninsula, the DPRK and China have maintained a friendly relationship, said Kim Jong-il.

He also reiterated the DPRK's principled stand on the nuclear issue.

The six-party talks on the settlement of the nuclear issue will take place in Beijing next week, which involves the DPRK, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.

Xu Caihou, on his part, said China will make unremitting efforts to consolidate the traditional DPRK-China relationship based on the common understanding reached by leaders of the two countries.

Also on Wednesday, Kim Il Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK Defense Commission, met the Chinese delegation, which arrived in Pyongyang on Monday for an official visit to the DPRK.

The delegation is scheduled to leave on Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2003)