North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is likely to visit China in late March to discuss reviving his country's moribund economy with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other senior officials.

Diplomatic sources in Beijing said Sunday that China is "aggressively pushing to invite Kim in late March when the National People's Congress ends."

They added, however, that it is unclear if the visit will materialize because of uncertainty over the political situation surrounding the North.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said he has no knowledge about the potential visit, saying only that the communist parties of the two countries are maintaining friendly exchanges.