(CNN) -- State-run news outlets in China confirmed Monday that reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il had visited China.
Kim met with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, on Friday, the state-run Xinhua news agency of China reported Monday.
Kim said he hoped for an early resumption of six-party talks to ease tension between North and South Korea, the news agency reported.
The six-party talks involve South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. Delegates to the talks had sought to disarm North Korea of nuclear weapons, but North Korea ended the talks last year.
The North acted after the United Nations Security Council condemned North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket. The Security Council said the launch violated a resolution banning ballistic missile testing. North Korea also expelled U.S. nuclear experts and U.N. nuclear inspectors after the Security Council's rebuke.
On Monday, the state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Kim as saying that North Korea "is not willing to see tensions on the peninsula". He also expressed a desire to "maintain close communication and coordination with China in pushing for an early resumption of the six-party talks".
Kim was in China from last Thursday until Monday, Xinhua reported.
Kim's visit to China was seen as related to his anticipated transfer of power to his son, Kim Jong-un, the Yonhap news agency of South Korea reported last week. CNN
