Xi, Kim jointly designate 2024 as China-DPRK Friendship Year

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un on Monday jointly designated 2024 as the China-DPRK Friendship Year and launched a series of activities.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Kim, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, made the announcement in their exchange of New Year greeting messages.

In his message, Xi pointed out that China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, saying that the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK was forged by the older generation of leaders of the two parties and two countries, cemented in the revolutionary struggle, and continuously deepened in the course of socialist construction.

In recent years, Xi said, the traditional friendly cooperation between China and the DPRK has entered a new historical period with joint efforts.

The two sides have maintained close strategic communication, deepened practical cooperation, strengthened coordination and collaboration in multilateral international affairs, pushed forward the continuous development of China-DPRK relations, safeguarded the common interests of the two countries, and maintained regional peace and stability, Xi added.