Beijing - China's President Jiang Zemin began a goodwill trip to North Korea yesterday, spurring hopes of progress towards elusive reconciliation on the Korean peninsula a day after Pyongyang said it would resume talks with Seoul.
The North Korean leader, Mr Kim Jong-il, wearing his trademark beige tunic, greeted his old Communist ally at the airport with a bear hug and a kiss on both cheeks, North Korean state television showed.
Tens of thousands of Pyongyang residents lined the streets waving and cheering as Mr Jiang, standing upright in an open-top limousine, was driven to the city centre.