hankyoreh

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang on Sunday and received a "verbal personal message" from China's President Hu Jintao, a news report said Monday.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim's visit was made at the invitation of the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Liu Xiaoming, but the report did not provide information about the message.

Kim was accompanied by his chief lieutenants, including Kim Ki-nam, secretary of the Workers' Party, and Kang Sok-ju, first vice minister of foreign affairs, the report said.

The visit coincides with a landmark meeting in New York between North Korea and the United States to normalize their ties, a follow-up measure after Pyongyang agreed to "disable" its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program in return for energy aid on Feb. 13.

The agreement was reached at the latest international talks, involving South Korea, North Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan, aimed at the nuclear disarmament of the North.

Seoul, March 5 (Yonhap News)