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President Hu ends fruitful visit to Pyongyang
By Xing Zhigangand Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-31 05:15
They agreed that the two sides should continue to deepen and develop the
traditional friendship and further promote the China-DPRK friendly and
co-operative ties, which is the unswerving policy of the two countries and their
common responsibility, Wang said.
A strong relationship with Pyongyang is expected to enable Beijing to push
for new progress in the fifth round of the Six-Party Talks, aimed at ending the
nuclear stand-off on the Korean Peninsula.
Top DPRK leader Kim Jong-il, general-secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea
and chairman of the National Defence Commission, pledged that it is his
country's national policy to develop friendly ties with China.
During summit talks with Hu, Kim praised Beijing's "sincere efforts to ensure
peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula as well as its positive measures to
develop co-operative relations with the DPRK.
"The DPRK people highly appreciate the selfless help from the brotherly
Chinese people and will remember and cherish the friendship between the two
peoples," said Kim at a Friday evening banquet for Hu.
Following their talks on Friday afternoon, the two countries signed
agreements on economic and technological co-operation.
To show his respect for Beijing's aid, Kim accompanied Hu on Saturday morning
on a tour of the Tae-an Friendship Glass Factory, built with 260 million yuan
(US$32 million) provided by the Chinese Government. The factory, with a daily
production capacity of 300 tons of glass, started production earlier this month.
The trip also offered an opportunity for the two leaders to develop their
personal friendship. They met once before in Beijing in April last year when Kim
made an official visit to China.
At the two-hour-45-minute banquet hosted by Kim in Hu's honour, they talked
most of the time through their interpreters.
The banquet culminated when Hu's interpreter sang two popular songs of the
DPRK in Korean. The young female interpreter once studied in Kim's Alma Mater,
the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang.
On Saturday night, Hu together with Kim appreciated the extravaganza
"Arirang" performance. The mass gymnastics and artistic performance was staged
at the May Day Stadium with an audience of 150,000.
"Arirang" is a combined work of art, which mixes mass gymnastic displays and
art performances with its famous pieces of music, ethnic dances, artistic
gymnastics, circus, stage decorations, modern stage settings and stage lighting.
The performance was re-designed for Hu's visit, with the final part featuring
Chinese songs and traditional Chinese folk dances.
(China Daily 10/31/2005 page1)
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