Beijing  - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il welcomed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the start of a three-day visit to Pyongyang on Sunday, Chinese state media reported.

The official Xinhua news agency said Kim greeted Wen at Pyongyang's main airport as he arrived for a visit that was expected to focus on international efforts to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Wen's trip was timed to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China's ruling Communist Party and North Korea's Korean Workers' Party.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency last week quoted unidentified diplomats as saying that during Wen's visit North Korea might make a public declaration of its position on six-party negotiations on its nuclear programme.

In early September, Kim told a Chinese envoy that North Korea was committed to denuclearization and to "peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula, Xinhua reported.

Kim was quoted as saying North Korea was "willing to solve problems through bilateral or multilateral talks."

His comments apparently signalled a commitment resume negotiations on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programme through the long-standing six-nation talks, which also involve the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. (dpa)