State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, the special envoy for Chinese President Hu Jintao, met with Premier Pak Bong Ju of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and held talks with the DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun in the Mansudae Assembly Hall, Pyongyang on the afternoon of July 12, 2005.

Tang told Pak Bong Ju that the friendship between China and the DPRK, which was initiated and cultivated by the older-generation leaders of the two countries, has stood tests of the history. Entering the new century, under the direct care of the top leaders of the two countries and thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, the bilateral relations continue developing soundly and the two countries maintain dynamic exchanges and cooperation in various fields and communications and cooperation on major international and regional issues. We are willing to continue making joint efforts with the DPRK to push for constant progress of bilateral relations in the principles of "carrying forward tradition, facing the future, being good neighbors and friends and strengthening cooperation".

Tang said economic and trade cooperation constitutes a major part of China-DPRK relations. Both countries should work hard to implement the consensus reached by their leaders, continuously advance the institutional innovation, tap the potential and carry out cooperation projects in multiple forms and with tangible results in a bid to realize common development and benefit the two peoples.

Pak Bong Ju noted at present the friendly relations between the DPRK and China are full of vitality, with frequent bilateral exchanges and productive cooperation. As a symbol of the friendship between the two peoples in the new era, the glass plant construction project assisted by China progresses steadily. The DPRK thanks China for its friendly assistance and expects to continuously expand and deepen the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

During talks with Paek Nam Sun, Tang made positive comments on the steady development of the traditional friendship and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK in the new century, stressing efforts should be made to enable the bilateral friendship and cooperative relations to better adapt to new situations, uplift the quality and level of bilateral cooperation in various fields, push for the in-depth and stable development of bilateral relations, bring about more benefits to the two peoples and jointly maintain and promote peace, stability, security and prosperity of the region.

Paek Nam Sun noted the people of the two countries are friends sharing weal and woe. The DPRK will work with China to continuously consolidate and reinforce the traditional friendship between the two countries and expand the bilateral friendly cooperation in all fields.

Both sides also exchanged in-depth views on the international and regional issues of common concern.

As a special envoy for Chinese President Hu Jintao, Tang Jiaxuan arrived in Pyongyang at noon July 12, kicking off his two-day official good-will visit to the DPRK.