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Seoul (AFP) Dec 9, 2010 Communist allies North Korea and China proclaimed their unity Thursday as the North's leader Kim Jong-Il held his first meeting with a senior Chinese envoy since the region's worst crisis in years erupted. China's most senior foreign policymaker Dai Bingguo visited Pyongyang as pressure intensifies on Beijing to rein in its neighbour, after North Korea's deadly shelling of a South Korean island inflamed tensions on the peninsula.
The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accused China of aiding and abetting the hardline Kim regime's "reckless behaviour".
Pyongyang and Beijing, allies during the Korean War, stand firmly together, their official media said.
"The two sides reached consensus on bilateral relations and the situation on the Korean peninsula after candid and in-depth talks," said a brief report from China's Xinhua news agency, datelined Pyongyang, after Kim and Dai met.
North Korea's official news agency said the delegations discussed "issues of mutual concern" and efforts to improve friendly relations.
It marked the first time that Kim has met a senior foreign official since the North's shock artillery attack on the border island, and since his regime startled the world by showing off a sophisticated new nuclear programme.
China is North Korea's sole major ally and sustains its shaky economy with fuel and food aid. More at link.
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