President Hu Visits Tae-an Friendship Glass Factory

The leaders inspected the construction and production situation of the glass factory, which was built with aid from China.

Hu Jintao arrived in Pyongyang Friday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao also met with President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, Kim Yong-nam, on Saturday.

Hu Jintao said at the meeting that China will continue to make concerted efforts with North Korea under the present international climate, to bring the two countries' friendship and cooperation to higher levels.

Kim Yong-nam said North Korea will join China in making efforts to boost their traditional friendship and push forward bilateral cooperation.

On Friday afternoon, Hu Jintao had held talks with Kim Jong-il. They had in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of mutual concern.

The Chinese President put forward a four-point proposal for further developing relations between the two countries, and between the Chinese Communist Party and Workers' Party of Korea.

First, forging closer high-level contacts and exchanges; second, extending exchanges in a greater scope of fields and enriching the substance of cooperation; third, promoting economic and trade cooperation for common development; and fourth, conducting active coordination for common interest.

The Tae-an Friendship Glass Factory, seen as a symbol of North Korea-China friendship, covers hundreds of thousands of square meters. All the main production processes and auxiliary facilities are equipped with the latest technologies.

The factory, situated on the bank of the Taedong River, was designed with a daily production capacity of 300 tons of float-processed glass.

It was commissioned on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea. A commissioning ceremony of the factory was held on the spot on October 9th.

Kim Jong-il and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi attended the ceremony.