MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met on Friday with a special envoy of the Chinese president, the countries' state media reported.
Chinese state councilor Dai Bingguo delivered a letter from Hu Jintao to Kim, and they discussed bilateral and international issues "in a cordial atmosphere", South Korea's Yonhap agency quoted Pyongyang's Korean Central Broadcasting Station as saying.
The meeting was also reported by North Korea's KCNA news agency and China's Xinhua. Further details on the talks were not given.
Ties between North Korea and its main ally China have been strained since the North's nuclear test blast in May this year, and ensuing missile tests.
China is one of the countries - along with Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States - trying to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program through the six-party talks.
Beijing has recently been pressing the North to return to the talks.
Yonhap said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is expected to visit the country in early October to mediate envisioned one-on-one talks between North Korea and the United States.
