A high-level Chinese delegation is to visit North Korea this week.
A spokesman for the Communist Party of China's International Liason Department said the four-day trip will start Friday led by Li Changchun, a member of the Communist Party.
The spokesman said the Chinese delegation has been officially invited by North Korea's Workers' Party and the government, but stopped short of providing further details.
However, diplomatic observers predict the delegation will meet with North's leader Kim Jong-il to discuss bilateral relations and the six-nation talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program.