BILATERAL AND REGIONAL DISCUSSIONS: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on October 5 (FAN RUJUN)

During his visit to North Korea on October 4-6, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao not only charted the future course for the two countries' relations but also created opportunities to restart the discontinued six-party talks aimed at resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who accompanied Wen on his trip, said the premier's visit achieved two major results. "First, it deepened the traditional friendship between China and North Korea and boosted their good neighborly relations of cooperation," Yang noted. "Second, it helped push forward the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula."

While in Pyongyang, Wen met with several senior North Korean officials, including the country's top leader Kim Jong Il. He became the first Chinese premier to visit North Korea since 1991.

The two sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges, deepen cooperation in economy and trade and strengthen coordination on major issues, Yang said. All this is aimed at advancing bilateral relations, delivering benefits to the Chinese and North Korean people and promoting regional peace, stability and development, he added.

REMEMBERING THE PAST: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao presents a wreath to the cemetery for martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers in Hoechang County some 100 km east of Pyongyang on October 5 during his visit to North Korea (HUANG JINGWEN)

China and North Korea signed a series of cooperative agreements, including an intergovernmental agreement on economic and technological cooperation, during Wen's visit. They also announced plans to build a new highway bridge over the Yalujiang River to further link the two countries.

China is North Korea's main trade partner. Bilateral trade volume between the two countries totaled $2.793 billion in 2008, up 41.3 percent year on year, according to China's Ministry of Commerce. Of this total, China's exports to North Korea amounted to $2.032 billion, whereas its imports from North Korea stood at $760 million.

The two countries have designated this year, which also marks the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, as the China-North Korea Friendship Year. North Korean Premier Kim Yong Il attended the opening ceremony of the Friendship Year in Beijing during his visit to China in March. Wen, for his part, participated in its closing ceremony in Pyongyang.