By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was greeted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il upon arriving in Pyongyang, Sunday, on a three-day visit, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported.
During the visit, Wen is to attend a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
He is also expected to hold talks with Kim as early as today and suggest the North return to the six-party denuclearization talks, North Korea watchers said.
The visit is the first to North Korea by a top Chinese official in four years since President Hu Jintao travelled to the isolated state in 2005.
"At the invitation of the North's Workers' Party and the DPRK government, Premier Wen Jiabao of the People's Republic of China arrived in Pyongyang, Sunday," the report said. "Comrade Kim Jong-il greeted Wen at the airport."
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea's official name.
But the report did not elaborate on what the North Korean leader told the Chinese premier as he arrived.
Wen was accompanied by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and Wu Dawei, special envoy to the stalled six-party talks.
Last month, Kim indicated that his country is willing to rejoin the talks ― which involve the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, China and Russia ― during a meeting with Chinese presidential envoy Dai Bingguo in Pyongyang.
The North Korean leader reportedly said that the country could "resolve the relevant problems through bilateral and multilateral talks," apparently referring to two-way negotiations with the United States and the six-party talks, respectively.
North Korea watchers said Kim would clarify his previous comments and whether or not the country will return to the six-way talks during his meeting with Wen.
Chinese Premier Wen is expected to offer food and oil assistance to the North, analysts said.
China, North Korea's only ally and biggest trading partner, has continued to supply free aid for years to help Pyongyang overcome its economic predicament.
North Korean media trumpeted Wen's visit, expressing high hopes for the fortification of relations between the two countries.
"We are glad that the comrade visits our country in the Year of Friendship and feel the deep emotion of friendship," said the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea's Workers Party.
It added, "We consider the bilateral ties preciously and have consistently sought to develop the bilateral relations."