Hu and CPC Congratulate Kim Jong Il

The Communist Party of China has sent a message congratulating Kim Jong Il on his re-election as General Secretary of the Chosun Workers’ Party.

The message was sent on Tuesday by Hu Jintao, China’s president, in his role as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and as a private individual.

Kim’s reelection as General Secretary was the first result to emerge from the Chosun Workers’ Party Delegates’ Conference, which was held yesterday in Pyongyang.

“On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and in my own name, I hereby extend my warm congratulations on the successful holding of the conference of the WPK (Workers’ Party of Korea, another name for the Chosun Workers’ Party), on your reelection as general secretary of the WPK, and on the reelection and formation of a new highest leading body of the WPK,” the message reads.

In a Xinhua article releasing the message contents, Hu is cited as adding that North Korea headed by Kim Jong Il has “led the entire Korean people to be self-reliant, to struggle arduously and to make great achievements in the cause of building Korean-style socialism.”

Also, “The Korean people have made a series of delightful achievements in building the DPRK (North Korea) into a strong and prosperous nation, in developing the national economy, in improving the people’s livelihoods, etc.”

“Despite the ups and downs of the international situation,” Hu reportedly goes on, “we will always handle, maintain and boost China-DPRK relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective.”

“We are willing to make joint efforts with the DPRK to continuously promote China-DPRK relations to a higher level, in order to better benefit the two peoples and make greater contributions to realizing lasting peace and common prosperity in the region.”

“I sincerely wish General Secretary Kim and the WPK to keep making new and greater achievements in the cause of leading the DPRK people building a strong and prosperous country,” it concludes.

The message appears to represent broad acceptance of the results of the Chosun Workers’ Party Delegates’ Conference, and “formation of a new highest leading body” could be seen as referring to and accepting the elevation of Kim Jong Eun.

However, that is not surprising, as it is likely that Kim Jong Il obtained President Hu’s acceptance of his planned course of action when the two met in Changchun, China on August 27th as part of Kim’s surprise second visit this year to North Korea’s closest ally.

It is also noteworthy that the message was sent by the Communist Party of China, not in the name of the government of China itself, leaving, as is often the case, diplomatic room for maneuver.

Christopher Green is a researcher in Korean Studies based at Leiden University in the Netherlands. Chris has published widely on North Korean political messaging strategies, contemporary South Korean broadcast media, and the socio-politics of Korean peninsula migration. He is the former Manager of International Affairs for Daily NK. His X handle is: @Dest_Pyongyang.