Chinese President Jiang Zemin expressed strong support Sunday for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's planned visit to North Korea on Sept. 17, Japanese officials said.
During a meeting with visiting Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, Jiang voiced high expectations for Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the officials said.
"We strongly support it," Jiang was quoted as saying. "We expect the trip to produce results."
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan voiced a similar view in a separate meeting with Kawaguchi, telling her that China supports the normalization of Japan-North Korea relations.