In his first communication after reemerging from an almost three-week public absence, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent a message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, praising China for success in preventing the COVID-19 infection.
The official Korean Central News Agency KCNA said on Friday that Kim sent a verbal message to Jinping, extending his warm greetings and appreciating that he is "seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic and strategically and tactically controlling the overall situation while leading the Chinese party and people."
Congratulating Jinping, Kim said he was pleased over the successes made in China. The North Korean leader also wished Xi Jinping good health, "expressing conviction that the Chinese party and people would cement the successes made so far and steadily expand them and thus win a final victory under the wise guidance of Xi Jinping."
Kim Jong Un said the relations between the Communist parties of the DPRK and China which were firmly consolidated while overcoming all sorts of trials and challenges of history are getting close and further developing on good terms with each passing day, KCNA said.
While communication between the leaders of North Korea and China are nothing uncommon, the message assumes significance as it comes after a long absence of Kim from the public eye.
North Korea's supreme leader was said to be critically ill and recovered after China sent a medical team to advise him on his health.
After three weeks of absence, Kim appeared on May 1 at a ribbon-cutting event to open a new fertilizer factory. However, the speculation over his health, a closely guarded secret in North Korea, and the leader using a body double has not stopped.
