Kim Jong-un: "Friendship and Cooperation with Vietnam Will Continue to Deepen and Develop"

Exchange of Congratulatory Messages on the 70th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between North Korea and Vietnam

Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea Kim Jong-un and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Nguyen Phu Trong shaking hands at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam, on March 1 last year.

Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, sent a congratulatory message to Nguyen Phu Trong, President of Vietnam, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, expressing his intention to continue developing friendly and cooperative relations. President Trong responded with the same sentiment in his congratulatory message.

On the 31st, North Korea's state media, Korean Central News Agency, reported that in the congratulatory message sent by Chairman Kim to President Trong, he stated, "The friendly relations between our two countries have been continuously solidified and developed over the past 70 years through joint struggles to realize the socialist cause."

Chairman Kim further stated, "I am confident that the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between our two parties and countries will continue to deepen and develop in accordance with the spirit of the agreement reached during the meaningful meeting and talks with the General Secretary comrade in March last year."

Earlier, on the 21st, President Trong also sent a congratulatory message to Chairman Kim commemorating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, KCNA introduced on the same day.

In his message, President Trong emphasized, "The friendly relations between the two countries have been continuously solidified by overcoming historical trials and challenges over 70 years and have achieved new developments in recent years. In particular, the official friendly visit of the Chairman comrade to Vietnam in March 2019 became an important milestone in the cooperative relations between the two parties and countries."

He added, "On this occasion, I reaffirm that the Party, State, and people of Vietnam value the traditional friendly relations between the two countries and will continue to solidify and develop them in accordance with the interests of the peoples of both countries and for the peace, stability, cooperation, and development of the region and the world."

North Korea and Vietnam established diplomatic relations in 1950 and forged a blood alliance, but relations cooled when Vietnam invaded the Chinese regime in Cambodia in 1978. Relations further distanced when Vietnam adopted the reform and opening policy 'Doi Moi' and established diplomatic ties with South Korea.

However, since 2000, the two countries have gradually begun to restore relations, and Chairman Kim Jong Un restored friendly relations with Vietnam by holding a summit with Vietnam during the 2nd North Korea-US summit in Hanoi.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.