North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said Friday he wanted a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, declaring his willingness to work with China to push forward the six-party process, Chinese state media reported.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and hopes to live in peace with all other sides," Kim was quoted as saying by the Xinhua news agency.

"We don't want to see tension emerge in the situation on the peninsula, and we are willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China and push forward the six-party process without interruption."

Kim made the remark while meeting in Pyongyang with Wang Jiarui, a senior official with China's Communist Party, Xinhua reported on its website.

It was Kim's first known meeting with a senior foreign visitor since his reported stroke in August.

Observers noted the timing of Kim's appearance, in the same week that US President Barack Obama was inaugurated in Washington, perhaps signalling North Korea's hopes of a new chapter vis-a-vis the United States.

China hosts the six-nation talks on nuclear disarmament of North Korea. The talks became bogged down in the final months of George W. Bush's administration over ways to verify the North's declared nuclear activities.

The six nations include the two Koreas, China, the United States, Japan and Russia.

During his meeting with Kim, Wang delivered "congratulations and a personal message" from China's President Hu Jintao to mark the Lunar New Year, the North's Korean Central News Agency reported.

It did not disclose the content of the personal message, but Chinese state TV said Wang extended an invitation from Hu for Kim to visit China, which the reclusive North Korean leader reportedly accepted "happily."

"China hopes to strengthen contacts with North Korea and work together to overcome obstructions and promote the continued progress of the six-party talks," Chinese state TV quoted Wang as saying.

The report showed no footage, but two stills of Kim, in his trademark boiler suit, and Wang smiling at each other.

"Relations between the DPRK and China have been important in the past, are important now and will be important in the future," Kim was quoted as saying by Chinese TV.

South Korean analysts said the meeting shows that Kim, who turns 67 next month, has recovered from a stroke which South Korean and US officials say he suffered last summer.

Seoul officials had previously said he was recovering well and remained in charge of his impoverished but nuclear-armed nation.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said the meeting showed that Kim's health appeared to be normal, but some analysts were more circumspect.

Brian Bridges, of Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said it "doesn't really clear up the questions about his underlying state of health."

In recent months the Stalinist nation's media has published dozens of reports and undated photos of the leader inspecting military installations or factories in an apparent attempt to show he is fit and in control.

Some Seoul analysts said the timing of Kim's meeting with Wang, so soon after Obama's inauguration, was significant.

"Wang's visit signals that hectic diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the nuclear issue will be made following the inauguration of the Obama administration," Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

The North has given conflicting signals on whether it plans to push ahead with denuclearisation after the new administration took office in Washington.

Last Saturday Pyongyang said it may not give up its nuclear weapons even after establishing diplomatic ties with Washington, as long as a US "nuclear threat" remains.

But a New Year policy-setting editorial carried no criticism of the United States. And state media Wednesday reported the Obama inauguration less than a day after the ceremony, more quickly than on previous occasions.

burs-ph/bsk