▲ Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
On the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between North Korea and China, the leaders of both nations exchanged congratulatory messages today, reaffirming their commitment to strengthening their strategic cooperative relationship.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated in a message sent to President Xi today (July 11), "I am prepared to elevate the DPRK-China friendship, which is based on a glorious history and tradition, to a new level and develop it into a model of the most powerful and strategic relations between socialist countries."
Regarding President Xi's state visit to Pyongyang last month, Kim emphasized, "Through the historic Pyongyang summit, General Secretary Xi and I reaffirmed our will to build a beautiful future for the peoples of our two countries together on the path of struggle for the victorious advancement of the socialist cause."
Chinese President Xi Jinping also stated in his message to Kim today, "I am willing to work to further strengthen strategic communication, firmly grasp the direction of the development of relations between the two countries, guide the friendly cooperation between the two sides to bring greater benefits to their peoples, and actively contribute to promoting regional peace and development."
Regarding his visit to Pyongyang last month, Xi also emphasized, "I reached an important consensus with General Secretary Kim on inheriting and consolidating the traditional China-DPRK friendship and giving it new significance in the current era," adding, "No matter how the international situation changes, the firm position of the Chinese party and government to attach great importance to the traditional China-DPRK friendship will not change."
The messages from the two leaders were placed at the top of the second page of the Rodong Sinmun.
The KCNA reported today that North Korean Premier Pak Tae-song, who led a North Korean delegation to China yesterday, met with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The KCNA reported that Premier Pak conveyed the regards of leader Kim to President Xi and said, "We will do everything possible to actively promote the revolutionary unity, common prosperity, and socialist cause of the two countries to a new, higher stage that meets the demands of the new era."
However, while reports from China's Xinhua News Agency on the meeting between Premier Pak and President Xi the previous day included Pak's remarks that he "firmly supports China's protection of its core interests, including the Taiwan issue," North Korean media did not report these comments.
The KCNA reported that President Xi, who met with Premier Pak, "expressed his willingness to strengthen strategic coordination between the two countries, firmly safeguard sovereignty, security, and development interests, and create a favorable environment for advancing along the path of socialism."
Xinhua News Agency stated that President Xi emphasized at the same meeting that "the two countries should develop their relations in line with the changing times, consolidate their respective socialist causes, and promote national modernization," but the KCNA did not report these remarks either.
Beyond the exchange of messages between the leaders, the two countries highlighted their strengthening ties through various exchanges and events.
The party and government delegation led by Premier Pak arrived in Beijing yesterday to attend the 65th-anniversary commemorative events and is currently carrying out a three-day schedule.
On the first day of the visit, the North Korean delegation paid tribute at the Monument to the People's Heroes in Tiananmen Square and met with key Chinese political figures, including Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, in addition to President Xi.
At a dinner banquet held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, China's guesthouse for foreign dignitaries, Cai Qi, Director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, expressed the commitment to strengthening the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries, the agency reported.
The Rodong Sinmun, which is read by North Korean citizens, published an editorial titled "The DPRK-China Friendship Forged by Great Ideology and Militant Comradeship Will Be Eternal," emphasizing the friendly relations between the two nations.
In the editorial, the newspaper highlighted the blood-alliance relationship between the two countries, stating that the "DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship is the offspring of the DPRK-China friendship, which was forged and solidified with blood amidst the flames of the revolutionary struggle against imperialism," and emphasized that the Workers' Party and the government "uphold the DPRK-China friendship as the most important, number one strategic task."
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