China-DPRK ties remain as solid as ever

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un, who is also chairman of the country's State Affairs Commission, congratulated Xi Jinping for being unanimously re-elected the president of China on Saturday.

Kim said he believes DPRK-China relations will develop in a direction that conforms to the common interests of the two peoples, which shows Beijing and Pyongyang still attach high value to their relationship.

The congratulatory message sent by Kim immediately after Xi's re-election has broken the illusion that China-DPRK ties have suffered serious damage. True, China-DPRK ties cooled down after Beijing strongly opposed Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests in the recent past. But Beijing still hopes Pyongyang will strike the right balance between national security and development. China also intends to maintain the traditional friendship with the DPRK.