China and North Korea held high-level military talks in Pyongyang Monday in which they stressed their friendly ties, the North's official media said.China's Colonel General Xu Caihou and North Korea's Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok met ahead of six-way talks in Beijing on August 27-29 to address the Stalinist state's nuclear ambitions, which have caused alarm worldwide.
"The friendly relations between the two armies are developing on good terms," Xu was quoted by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as telling Jo, who is second only to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in rank.
KCNA reported that Xu, also director of the Chinese army's general political department, said Beijing had "a serious view of friendly relations between the two armies and the two peoples."
The Chinese official recalled previous exchanges of visits by the leaders of the countries and stressed "the firm will of China and (North) Korea to carry forward the tradition," KCNA said.
KCNA said the meeting was also attended by other military officials from both sides.
The Chinese delegation arrived in Pyongyang earlier Monday. China's Xinhua news agency said they were on a "goodwill" visit to North Korea at the invitation of Jo, who visited Beijing in April.
China, a close ally and aid provider to North Korea, is to host the upcoming six-nation talks to resolve the 10-month crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions.
The multilateral nuclear crisis talks include the United States, Japan, China, Russia and the two Koreas.
The nuclear crisis erupted in October last year when the United States accused Pyongyang of reneging on a 1994 bilateral nuclear accord by setting up a clandestine program based on enriched uranium.
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