Hu Jintao, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee said in Beijing on Monday that his party would make continued efforts to promote friendly relations and cooperation with North Korea.

In a congratulatory message to Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s top leader, on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK), Hu said that to carry forward and further develop their friendship embodies the common will of and serves the fundamental interests of the two parties, two countries and two peoples and is also conducive to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Hu congratulated Kim and the WPK on their and the North Korean people’s achievements in economic development, promoting foreign relations and endeavors to achieve peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2005)