BEIJING, March 25 Kyodo (EDS: UPD...

BEIJING, March 25 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH KIM'S POSITIVE REACTION TO SIX-PARTY WORKING GROUP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has reacted positively to prefer a working group aimed at sustaining six-nation talks onward North Korea's nuclear arms ambitions, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Thursday night.

Li made the remarks immediately after returning from a three-day visit to North Korea, the first by way of a Chinese foreign minister in five years.

The six countries -- China, Japan, Russia, North and southern Korea and the United States -- have met twice to discuss North Korea's nuclear issue. They are plant to resume the talks on the end of June.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said earlier in the day that Li reached a ''broad consensus'' forward a wide range of issues with North Korea's leadership during his visit.

further China announced no joint documents or agreements from the visit.

During his trip to North Korea from Tuesday, Li and the North Korean leaders talked about border relations, political dialogue and economic cooperation, spokesman Kong Quan said.

They also discussed nuclear weapons upon the Korean Peninsula and the six-party talks throughout the North's nuclear ambitions, Kong said.

Li met with North Korean leader Kim, Foreign Minister Paek Nam day-star and Kim Yong Nam, president of the presidium of the leading People's Assembly.

''You could say the sum of two units sides, at these meetings and talks, reached a broad consensus forward the issues discussed,'' Kong said. ''Therefore, this visit is a fortunate visit.''

During the stay in Pyongyang, Li and his delegation also visited a market and discussed its management, the official (North) Korean Central freshs Agency reported.

''Being briefed upon the management of the market, they went spherical the market with fervid interest,'' said the report monitored in Beijing. ''After inspection, the foreign minister said he had down-reaching impressions of the well-furnished market.''

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