Kim Jong Il (R), top leader of North Korea meets with visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, June 18, 2008. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

The top leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, met visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to highlight the warm ties between the two neighboring countries.

At the meeting, Xi conveyed Chinese President Hu Jintao's greetings to Kim. He also congratulated the leader on the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Korea, wishing it even more and greater achievements in the future.

Kim, who is the general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the National Defence Commission, asked Xi to convey his greetings to President Hu, general secretary of the the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Welcoming Xi, Kim said his visit to North Korea reflects the great importance attached by China to developing the traditional friendly relations between the two countries.

Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee's Political Bureau, is in Pyongyang for an official goodwill visit at the invitation of the WPK Central Committee and North Korean government.