Chinese leader Xi Jinping marked yesterday’s anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death with a telegram sent to Pyongyang noting, “The new central leadership group values highly the tradition of friendship which has been nurtured by the two parties, two countries and older generation leaders.”
According to Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA), the telegram, which was sent to the Chosun Workers’ Party by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, of which Xi is general secretary, stated, “In his lifetime, comrade Kim Jong Il worked heart and soul to further develop the traditional China-DPRK friendship and fully promote the development of Sino-DPRK relations, while maintaining close friendships with Chinese leaders.”
It continued, “The Chinese party and people will always remember him,” going on, “We are pleased that the Korean people turned sorrow into strength, united closely around the Central Committee headed by First Secretary Kim Jong Eun and have achieved fresh and admirable successes in every field of socialist construction over the past one year, true to the last instructions of Kim Jong Il.”
“It is the inviolable policy of the Chinese party and government to steadily develop the Sino-DPRK relations of friendship and cooperation. The new leadership of the CPC values highly the traditional Sino-DPRK friendship provided and cultivated by the leaders of elder generations of the two parties and countries,” it then reaffirmed, concluding, “We will, together with the DPRK side, further consolidate, build and develop the traditional friendship between the two parties and the two countries and thus make positive contributions to promoting the welfare of the two peoples and defending peace and stability in the region.”
