Xi and Putin Send Congratulatory Messages to Kim Jong-un on North Korea's 78th Founding Day
Xi and Putin sent messages praising deeper strategic ties; both notes were carried on Rodong Sinmun's front page.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent official congratulatory messages to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the occasion of the country's national day, September 9, and the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Messages highlight deeper strategic ties
In his message, Xi said he hoped “to continue strengthening the strategic direction” of bilateral relations and that he would work with Kim to develop their two countries. He added that deepening and developing the bilateral relationship remains a “permanent and unchanging priority” for the Chinese Communist Party.
Putin, in a separate message, said he will continue “to work in closest cooperation” with Kim Jong-un to reinforce the comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea. Putin also wrote that the ties between the two states will contribute to regional security and to a “fairer, multipolar world order.”
Both messages were published on the front page of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
KCNA also said Kim received congratulations from leaders of several other countries — including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia, Sweden, Belarus, Singapore, Switzerland and Zimbabwe — on the anniversary of the DPRK's founding on September 9, 1948.
Photo: press material from the event
