On the afternoon of March 23rd, 2004, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who was paying an official visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, held talks in Pyongyang with his DPRK counterpart Baek Nam Soon. The two sides exchanged views in an in-depth manner on China-DPRK relations, the nuclear issue and other regional and international issues of common concern.
Li Zhaoxing said that with the direct care and efforts of leaders of the two countries, the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK had witnessed new development. He noted that the friendly exchanges between the two sides had been frequent, bilateral economic, trade and cultural cooperation had been very active, and trade volume between the two countries had achieved a new record last year. He said the two sides had also maintained good cooperation on regional and international issues.
Li Zhaoxing emphasized that it had been a consistent guideline for the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government to develop friendly relations of cooperation with the DPRK. Li Zhaoxing indicated that China would like to push forward the continuous development of bilateral relations together with the DPRK in the sprit of "carrying on traditions, looking into the future, remaining good neighbors and strengthening cooperation".
Baek Nam Soon said the development of DPRK-China relations had fully reflected the high priority given by leaders of the two countries to bilateral relations, which was very much appreciated by the DPRK side. It was the consistent stance of the Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government to further consolidate and develop DPRK-China friendship. He believed that with joint efforts of the two sides, the relations would definitely be further enriched and more dynamic.
The two sides explained respectively their domestic situations and foreign policies. While talking about the Taiwan question, Li Zhaoxing stressed that the fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China can never be changed regardless of the result of the election in Taiwan. Baek Nam Soon indicated that the DPRK would continue to support firmly the stance of the Chinese side on the Taiwan question.
Before the talks Li Zhaoxing laid a wreath at the DPRK-China Friendship Tower in the company of DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il as well as Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Wu Donghe.