On the afternoon of February 23, 2010, Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Chinese President, met at the Great Hall of the People with a delegation from the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) headed by Kim Yong Il, director of the International Affairs Department of the WPK Central Committee.

Hailing the continuous development of China-DPRK relations over the past year, Hu said the leaders of the two countries and parties maintained frequent contacts on a range of major issues of common concern. The two sides celebrated the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties by holding the Year of Friendship, which renewed the traditional friendship and upgraded the relationship, he said.

Hu pledged to push forward China's relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying cementing friendly ties between the two countries has been a consistent policy of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government. "Under the current complicated and volatile international situation, it is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and also benefits peace, stability and prosperity of the region and the world to further promote friendly exchanges and expand pragmatic cooperation between the two countries," said Hu. In the new year, China is ready to work with the DPRK to push bilateral friendly relations to a new level.

Kim Yong Il said the DPRK-China relations have been developing steadily under the care of the top leaders of the two parties. In particular the holding of the Year of Friendship last year showed the vitality of the friendship between both countries. The WPK and the DPRK people value friendship with China and are delighted with the enormous economic and social development the Chinese people have achieved under the leadership of the CPC. He hoped to further exchanges between the two parties and two countries to contribute to DPRK-China relations.

Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting.