North Korean leader Kim Jong-il says his government will observe a 1992 inter-Korean declaration on a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Kim told this to Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, who recently visited Pyongyang as a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Sources well acquainted with Sino-Japanese relations say Beijing delivered Kim's position to Japan while explaining the results of Tang's visit.

Kim is known to have said devotion to a nuclear-free peninsula is a legacy of the late North Korean leader and his father Kim Il-sung.

On the six-party nuclear talks, Kim Jong-il said his country will only return if U.S. financial sanctions are lifted.

Based on what the North Korean leader said, Beijing has told other parties to the six-way talks that Pyongyang will not conduct more nuclear tests.

The sources, however, say whether Kim made the point clear remains unconfirmed.