Xi extends greetings on DPRK's 75th founding anniversary

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of congratulations on Saturday to Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on the 75th anniversary of the country's founding.

Under the strong WPK leadership and with the unremitting efforts of the DPRK people, new achievements have been made in the socialist construction of the DPRK over the past 75 years, Xi said.

He said that in recent years, Comrade General Secretary Kim has led the WPK and the people of the DPRK in fully implementing the spirit of the 8th WPK Congress and the plenary sessions of the 8th Central Committee, focusing on economic development and improvement of people's livelihood, and has achieved important results.

Xi expressed his confidence that under the leadership of Comrade General Secretary Kim and the WPK, the brotherly DPRK people will surely continuously advance the socialist cause of the country for new development and lift it to a new level.

China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and river, Xi stressed, adding that the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, established and cultivated by the elder generations of leaders of both parties and both countries, has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and has grown stronger with time.

Xi noted that he and Kim have met five times in recent years, maintained close communication through various forms, and jointly led the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK into a new era.

Unswerving position

Noting that momentous changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world, Xi said it has always been the unswerving position of the CPC and the Chinese government to maintain, consolidate and develop the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK, no matter how the international and regional situation changes.

Under the new circumstances, China is willing to work with the DPRK to strengthen strategic communication and deepen practical cooperation, push China-DPRK relations to advance with the times and achieve greater development, so as to better benefit the two peoples and make greater contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, Xi added.

Chinese Vice-Premier Liu Guozhong led a party and government delegation to the DPRK to attend the commemorative events of its 75th founding anniversary and visit the country from Friday to Sunday upon invitation.

During the visit, Kim met with Liu, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

The two sides exchanged in-depth views on China-DPRK relations and bilateral exchanges and cooperation in specific areas.

The DPRK held a paramilitary parade and a national meeting to celebrate the country's 75th founding anniversary, the state news agency said on Saturday.

The DPRK held the parade at the Kim Il-sung Square in the capital Pyongyang on Friday, with Kim Jong-un in attendance, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

Xinhua