Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited China’s earthquake-devastated Sichuan Province on Friday (May 30) to deliver his condolences to the Chinese people suffering from the unprecedented natural disaster, according to Korean joint press corps.

Lee flew into Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, after inspecting Korean-invested companies in Qingdao, a major seaport and industrial center in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. Lee, who came to China on Tuesday for a four-day state visit, has successfully wound up his visit to Beijing with a summit agreement to upgrade Korea-China relations to a strategic cooperative partnership.

On landing at Chengdu’s international airport, Lee was greeted by Jiang Jufeng, governor of Sichuan Province, and said that he came to Sichuan to share the pain and suffering of the Chinese people.

As Jiang expressed his appreciation of President Lee’s visit on behalf of the Sichuan people in an emotional voice, the president replied, "I can hardly hold back tears. I wish for a quick recovery from the disaster."

Lee, accompanied by Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and other top officials from both countries, traveled for an hour by bus to Dujiangyan, a remote Sichuan Province city severely damaged by the magnitude 7.9 earthquake on May 12.

"The entire city seems empty. China is a close neighbor to Korea. I would have felt uncomfortable if I failed to visit here, because I was treated well in Beijing," Lee said, meeting with Sichuan provincial officials and residents in Dujiangyan.

Lee then visited a refugee camp in the same city to give words of encouragement to Chinese earthquake victims. Dujiangyan residents living in the shelter warmly welcomed Lee and expressed gratitude for Korea’s relief goods and other aid as Lee patted young children on the shoulder with words of consolation and encouragement.

During the tour of Dujiangyan, Lee called Prime Minister Han Seung-soo in Seoul with instructions to swiftly send shipments of additional relief goods, such as tents and blankets.

Lee, who became the first foreign head of state to visit the earthquake-hit Chinese province, repeatedly stressed that his visit to Sichuan would help the two countries become closer neighbors.

The Korean government has already provided about $3 million worth of cash and relief goods to China and dispatched 44 emergency relief workers to the devastated area. An additional $2 million worth of aid will be delivered to China.

The number of confirmed deaths from the quake, which rocked Sichuan Province and its vicinity on May 12, exceeded 68,000 this week. An additional 19,851 are still missing and more than 5 million people were made homeless by the earthquake.

Prior to his departure to Dujiangyan, Lee inspected three Korean military transport airplanes which arrived in Chengdu on Thursday carrying about 380 million won ($362,000) worth of relief goods, including tents and blankets.

"For the first time in history, Korean military airplanes came to visit China. It is an unprecedented incident and vividly reflects the upgraded relationship between Korea and China," said Lee, meeting with crew members of the Korean military airplanes at the airport’s parking ramp.

In this regard, military officials in Seoul explained that Korean military transport airplanes had entered China in the past for the purpose of personnel exchanges, but it was the first time for them to arrive in China for military or logistics operations.

"I came here convinced that we always have to share the pleasure and pain of the Chinese people, because China is the closest neighbor and a good neighbor to Korea. Timely support would be helpful to the disaster-stricken residents here," said Lee.

Lee is to return home late Friday night, concluding his four-day state visit to China.