North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un praised his country’s close ties with neighboring China, seeking to strengthen its ties as they both deal with hostile US policies.
Kim’s message first appeared on the Chinese state news network Xinhua, which reported on Monday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had exchanged spoken messages with the North Korean ruler through representatives of China, officially the People’s Republic of China and North Korea, formally the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The exchange was then carried out by the official Korean Central News Agency in North Korea.
Kim informed Xi of the results of his 8th Congress of the Korean Workers’ Party, in government, in January, “as required by the times that call for intensified strategic communication between the two parties based on deep camaraderie”.
The event, according to Kim, “established scientific and realistic lines of struggle and strategic and tactical tasks to achieve new innovation in the Party and in state affairs, as required by changes in internal and external situations and reality”.
He said the case “took practical steps to strengthen the Party’s leadership and combat efficiency, bring about its solid development and consolidate the state and social system, and set the direction for the Korean revolution’s progress and fighting policies, including the discussion of and decision on the economic strategy and a new long-term plan at the current stage. ”
Kim also mentioned Pyongyang’s recent turnaround in Washington and Seoul.
“Reporting in detail that the WPK discussed and decided on its political position on strengthening the country’s defense capabilities, inter-Korean relations and DPRK-US relations after an in-depth study and analysis of the situations on the Korean peninsula and international relations , “Kim’s message” emphasized the need to strengthen unity and cooperation between the two parties and the two countries to deal with the general challenges and obstructive movements of hostile forces. “
Kim said that it is the will of his party and his people “to vigorously advance the cause of socialism by virtue of friendship and unity, the message expresses the conviction that cooperation between the two parties will continue to go well and friendly relations between the two countries would become stronger, as required by the times and in accordance with the wishes, desires and central interests of the two peoples in this significant year. “
2021 is set to mark the centenary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, as well as the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the DPRK-China Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Treaty, the only defense treaty that both countries have with any other nation.
Kim finally “wished Xi Jinping good health and greater success in carrying out his heavy duty to lead the CCP and the Chinese people,” according to a report by the Central News Agency in Korea.
Korea Central News Agency
Xinhua and other Chinese state-owned media offered their own narratives of the messages, which would have been transmitted by senior diplomats.
In comments made by the North Korean ambassador to China, Ri Ryong Nam, Kim “gave a comprehensive briefing” of the 8th Party Congress and praised Xi’s leadership in his Chinese Communist Party, under which “the Chinese people succeeded in fighting to the global public health crisis and achieved remarkable results in completing the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects and in the struggle for the complete eradication of poverty “, according to Xinhua.
Kim took “an unshakable position” on behalf of himself, the Korean Workers’ Party and the people of North Korea “to strengthen and develop DPRK-China relations, causing envy to the world, and to advance the socialist cause with friendship and solidarity, adding that the DPRK side firmly believes that the friendly DPRK-China relations will be raised and developed according to the demands of the time, as well as the fundamental aspirations, desires and interests of the two peoples. “
The Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Song Tao, speaking on behalf of Xi, congratulated Kim on his Party Congress and “said that the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK is a precious treasure shared by the two parties, two countries and two peoples “.
“Under the new situation, the Chinese side is ready to work with the DPRK comrades to maintain, consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations, and strive to achieve new results in the socialist causes of both countries, in order to bring more benefits for both peoples “, he added.
Xi noted that “the world is now undergoing transformations rarely seen in a century, which is superimposed by the pandemic that occurs once every century”, and said that events in Asia and the globe have also shown “profound changes”.
“The Chinese side is willing to work with the DPRK side and other related parties to follow the direction of the political solution to the Korean Peninsula issue and to preserve peace and stability on the peninsula,” said Xi, “in order to make something new. and positive contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity. “
The close ties between China and North Korea go back to the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in it, a year later, a conflict in which Chinese troops supported North Korean forces, with the support of Soviet Union, against South Korea and a United Nations coalition led by the USA. The fight ended with an impasse and the establishment of an armistice, but without official peace, a situation that continues today.
Since then, Beijing has proved by far the closest foreign partner to Pyongyang, although the Chinese leadership has not endorsed the development of Kim dynasty nuclear weapons.
China offered to play a role in resolving ongoing hostilities on the Korean Peninsula, and the issue was raised during the first meeting between Chinese officials and US delegates to President Joe Biden’s government. China’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides “exchanged views” on the issue along with several others “and agreed to maintain and improve communication and coordination”.
But the public segments of the opening conversation have been tense at times, with the Washington side starting with some of the most controversial takeovers between the two major powers and seeking a “position of strength” in doing so.
Still, North Korea is also among the list of topics on which “interests intersect” between the U.S. and China, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Friday after the Alaskan dialogue ended.
On the same day, however, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement referring to the troubled history of Pyongyang and Washington, referred to as “our state’s main enemy” in comments that echo Kim’s 8th speech. Party Congress.
“Relations between the DPRK and the United States – the most hostile on this planet – have been technically in a state of war for more than 70 years,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday, “and this proves to be an undeniable reality. “
The statement reached Malaysia on the unprecedented extradition of North Korean citizen Mun Chol Myong from the Southeast Asian country to the United States on charges of financial fraud. In censoring Malaysia, the ministry also warned “in advance that the US – the behind-the-scenes manipulator and the main culprit in this incident – will also have to pay the price due”.
The comments were just the latest in a series of harsh messages from North Korea. First Deputy Minister Choe Son Hui confirmed on Thursday that Pyongyang had ignored the Biden government’s openings for negotiations on Thursday, saying that Washington’s “hostile policy” must first be reversed and, ultimately, the deputy director of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers’ Party, Kim Yo Jong. This week took advantage of “the opportunity to alert the new United States administration that is striving to exhale a smell of gunpowder on our lands.”
“If he wants to sleep peacefully for the next four years, it is best not to cause discomfort in the first stage,” said Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, about the Biden government at the time.
GREG BAKER / AFP / Getty Images
The Biden government said it was reviewing the US approach to North Korea after former President Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to forge a denuclearization agreement for peace and sanctions with Kim Jong Un, and became the first president. of the US to meet with a North Korean Supreme Leader.
“The United States is conducting a full interagency review of US policy towards North Korea and we are also evaluating all options available to deal with the growing threat posed by North Korea, as well as its neighbors and, frankly, our country community, “State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Friday. “And we will continue to lead a structured and detailed policy process that integrates a diverse set of voices from the government, as well as from outside the government, which includes think tanks and outside experts.”
Biden sent Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to South Korea and Japan shortly before the US-China negotiations in Alaska, and discussed a strategy for “denuclearizing North Korea” on both charts. The phrase was also mentioned earlier this month for the first time in the context of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a group that includes Australia, India, Japan and the United States, which have raised the alarm about an apparent threat posed by China.
State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter echoed that position on Monday when asked about Mun’s extradition.
“I will just reiterate that the United States remains committed to the denuclearization of North Korea, and any other details that I would like to consult,” Porter told reporters during a regular news conference.
As for Kim Jong Un, his 8th Party Congress marked the departure from the failed rapprochement under Trump, and the ruler proclaimed that North Korea “would adopt a skillful strategy towards the United States and constantly expand solidarity with independent anti-imperialist forces. “.
North Korea and China are among the 17 parties to sign an international group known as the “Group of Friends in Defense of the United Nations Charter”, which earlier this month shared its call for additional members with Newsweek.