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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to further strengthen relations with China in a congratulatory message to President Xi Jinping marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, state media reported Wednesday.
Kim said it was Pyongyang's "steadfast stand" to develop relations with Beijing, according to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.
"It is the steadfast stand of our Party and government to steadily develop the DPRK-China friendly relations with long and historical roots and with socialism as their core," Kim said in the message.
Kim said he was ready to work with Xi to further develop North Korea-China "friendly and cooperative relations," calling them "the common wealth of the peoples of the two countries."
He also pledged to work alongside Xi to "add shine to socialism," according to state media.
Kim recalled his summit with Xi in Pyongyang last month, describing it as a "historic occasion" that deepened friendship and trust between the two leaders and their countries.
"The recent Pyongyang summit was a historic occasion of deepening the comradely friendship and trust between us," Kim said.
He added that the two leaders had reaffirmed their "unshakable will" to advance traditional bilateral ties.
Kim also said: "There is no new China without the Communist Party. This is the truth the Chinese people have realized while advancing under its guidance for many years."
"The absolute superiority of the relations between the two countries is firmly guaranteed by the leadership of the parties," he added.
Xi visited Pyongyang on June 8-9, making his first trip to North Korea in nearly seven years.
It was also Xi's first visit to North Korea since his last trip before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
During the summit, Kim and Xi adopted what North Korean state media described as a "far-reaching blueprint" for bilateral relations.
They also pledged to develop their traditional friendship into "the most powerful and strategic relations."
Chinese state media reported that Xi pushed for closer diplomatic, law enforcement and military cooperation.
The message came weeks after Xi's rare visit to Pyongyang and as North Korea continues to build closer ties with Russia, including through Pyongyang's increasingly close military relationship with Moscow.
While Pyongyang has drawn closer to Moscow by supplying troops and weapons for Russia's war in Ukraine, China remains North Korea's largest economic partner.
China accounted for nearly 98% of North Korea's foreign trade in 2024, according to South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance.
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