North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his heir-apparent son met with a high-level Chinese military delegation visiting Pyongyang to mark the 60 anniversary of China's participation in the Korean War, state media reported Tuesday.
It was the second time for the son, Kim Jong-un, to attend a diplomatic meeting with a foreign guest since his public debut as successor to the communist regime late last month. Though still in his 20s, he was promoted to a four-star general and given key ruling Workers' Party posts.
Earlier this month, the junior Kim also attended a meeting between his father and a senior Chinese envoy.
Monday's meeting with Gen. Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, was held "in a cordial and friendly atmosphere," Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported early Tuesday. The KCNA also said the Chinese official conveyed best wishes from President Hu Jintao, and Kim expressed appreciation.
Kim, the leader, later hosted a dinner for the Chinese delegation, which proceeded "in an amicable atmosphere overflowing with friendship," the KCNA said.
Guo, a colonel general, had arrived in Pyongyang Saturday as head of a high-level military delegation to commemorate China's 1950 participation in the Korean War to fight alongside the North against the U.S.-led allied forces. The conflict ended in a truce in 1953, leaving the two sides technically still at war.
Earlier Monday, the KCNA said that both Kims and the Chinese general watched a mass rally lauding the North's alliance with China.
China is North Korea's last remaining major ally that provides the impoverished nation with food and energy aid as well as diplomatic support. It is seen as having approved of Pyongyang's hereditary power succession plan, with a senior party official having watched the parade with the Kims. President Hu Jintao has also invited the North's "new leadership" to his country.