Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has said his country will further develop DPRK-China friendship in generations and centuries to come, the official news agency KCNA reported.

Kim made this pledge at a banquet held for him on Friday in China, according to the KCNA.

He said the DPRK would as ever "make every possible effort to put this friendship on a higher level."

With the international situation remaining complicated, it was the important historical mission of the DPRK to hand over the baton of the traditional friendship to the next generation as a precious asset, he said.

Kim said steadily developing the friendship through generations was an important issue in defending peace and security in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world.

His meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao last May further deepened the political trust and strikingly displayed the invincibility of the bilateral friendship again to the world, he added.

According to the KCNA, Kim visited Northeast China from Thursday to Monday.