The Chinese Foreign Ministry has reportedly said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's visit to China was separate from the sinking of the South Korean warship "Cheonan."

According to China's official Xinhua news agency, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference Friday that the unofficial visit was arranged long ago and irrelevant to the Cheonan incident.

She said the maritime incident is a case of unfortunate emergency and that Beijing also expressed condolences to Seoul. She said the two Koreas should be prudent in words and action before the cause of the sinking is determined.

The spokeswoman said China also told the North Korean leader that stability on the Korean Peninsula is beneficial to Northeast Asian countries and urged efforts to proceed with the six-party nuclear dialogue.

The ministry says Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is considering attending the tripartite summit talks with Japan and South Korea scheduled for late this month.