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A true time-tested friendship

By Lu Chao (China Daily) Updated: 2011-07-09 07:58

On July 11, 1961, then Premier Zhou Enlai and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Il-sung signed the historic Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK, laying a solid foundation of friendship and cooperation.

This is the 50th year of the treaty, and the two countries have jointly organized a series of events and activities to mark it. The programs are expected to draw the attention of the international community to the importance of the treaty and the traditional good neighborly and friendly ties between China and the DPRK.

The treaty has guided the ruling parties and governments of both countries to respect and support each other, consolidate their friendly relations and carry forward the spirit of friendship and cooperation from one generation to another. Without doubt, the signing of the treaty has made an indelible contribution to regional peace and stability.

China and the DPRK have maintained their close cooperative ties since their foundations. The DPRK established diplomatic relations with China on Oct 6, 1949, becoming one of the first countries to do so with New China.

The Korean War broke out eight months later, that is, in June 1950. And when the United States army crossed the 38th parallel, the flames of the war spread to the banks of the Yalu River on the China-DPRK border. The Chinese people were confronted with the menace of another war just months after the foundation of the People's Republic of China.

At the request of the DPRK, China sent a volunteer force to join the war. After signing of the armistice on July 27, 1953, China helped the DPRK in its post-war economic restoration and reconstruction. In November 1953, Beijing and Pyongyang signed an agreement on economic and cultural cooperation. About eight years later, they signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.

Since the treaty was signed at the height of the Cold War, when the then superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, were openly as well as secretly battling for global supremacy, it came to be seen as a byproduct of the Cold War.

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