On March 24th, 2004, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong Il met in Pyongyang with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

Kim Jong Il warmly welcomed Li Zhaoxing's first visit to his country after assuming the post of Chinese Foreign Minister. He said DPRK-China friendship was cultivated by the older generation of leadership of the two countries and was based on many years of concerted struggle and cooperation, which was greatly cherished and would be fully boosted in the future by the Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government

Li Zhaoxing conveyed the cordial greetings to Kim Jong Il from General Secretary Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Central Military Commission Jiang Zemin and other Chinese leaders. He said China-DPRK friendship enjoyed a long history, and had been enriched continuously and deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples. He noted that it had been a consistent guideline for the central leadership of China as well as an important part of China's diplomatic work with neighboring countries to constantly consolidate and develop friendly relations of cooperation with the DPRK. China would make every effort to promote bilateral relations to a new height.

Kim Jong Il asked Li Zhaoxing to forward his best regards to Chinese leaders.