The sincerity of relevant parties to resume the six-party denuclearization talks is very important, Kim was quoted by Xinhua as saying during a meeting with senior Chinese Communist Party official Wang Jiarui in the North Korean capital on Monday.

To that end, North Korea is willing to make efforts with China to further strengthen communication and coordination, he added.

Wang, who headed the Chinese delegation to Pyongyang, conveyed a "verbal personal message" from Chinese President Hu Jintao, according to a short dispatch by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency early Tuesday.

KCNA did not report the contents of Hu's verbal message, but according to Xinhua, a letter delivered to Kim from Hu included a call for the two countries to make "joint efforts" to "maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."

In the letter, Hu also extended an invitation for Kim to visit China, Xinhua said.

Kim expressed gratitude for the message, and asked Wang, head of the Communist Party's International Department, to convey his regards to Hu, according to KCNA.

Kim had "a cordial and friendly conversation" with Wang before hosting a dinner for Wang and his entourage, it added.

Wang returned to Beijing on Tuesday morning.

He arrived Saturday in Pyongyang in what was seen as a mission to jumpstart the six-way talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Observers believe China, chair of the six-party talks, wants to make Wang's visit an impetus to speed up coordination toward the resumption of the multilateral dialogue involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

North Korea pulled out of the six-party talks in April last year in protest over the U.N. Security Council's condemnation of a rocket launch it conducted the same month. The launch was widely seen as a long-range missile test.

North Korea fueled the tension by conducting a second nuclear test in May last year.

The moves resulted in increased U.N. sanctions on the country.