Xi congratulates Kim on WPK anniversary

Liu Yunshan (right), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, is greeted in Pyongyang on Friday. Liu will attend activities marking the anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea.[Photo by RAO AIMIN/XINHUA]

President Xi Jinping sent a message to DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un on Friday as a senior Chinese official arrived in Pyongyang to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, extended warm congratulations to Kim, the first secretary of the WPK, and through him to the WPK Central Committee, all of its members and all of the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Over the years, Kim Jong-un, carrying forward the will of the late DPRK founder Kim Il-sung and late leader Kim Jong-il, has led the WPK and the people of the DPRK to achieve progress in developing the economy and improving people's livelihoods, among other achievements, Xi said.

Xi expressed his sincere wish that the people of the DPRK would keep making new and greater achievements in the cause of building Korean-style socialism.

Hailing the glorious tradition of China-DPRK friendship, Xi said China is willing to make joint efforts with the DPRK to maintain, consolidate and develop the friendship in the interest of the two countries and two peoples, in order to play a constructive role in maintaining regional and world peace and stability.

The message was sent the same day that senior CPC official Liu Yunshan arrived in Pyongyang.

Liu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, is leading a Party delegation to attend activities marking the anniversary of the founding of the WPK and will pay an official friendly visit to the DPRK.

During his stay, Liu is scheduled to meet with DPRK leaders to exchange views on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern.

Analysts said Xi's message and Liu's visit show that China attaches great importance to its relations with the DPRK and hopes to develop the ties.

Also, the visit may once again convey to the DPRK China's stance on avoiding nuclear proliferation or other activities that tend to disrupt the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, said Wang Fan, vice-president of China Foreign Affairs University.

"There has always been a mechanism of communicating China's policies (concerning the peninsula) to the DPRK, but a visit led by an official as high-ranking as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee is relatively rare in the past two years," he said.