North Korea, China Vow Greater Cooperation, Pyongyang Says
Voice of America
SEOUL - The leaders of North Korea and China traded messages vowing to strengthen cooperation on the anniversary of their treaty of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the two countries, North Korea's KCNA news agency reported Sunday.
In a message to China's Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said their relationship was vital in the face of hostile foreign forces, while Xi promised to bring cooperation "to a new stage," KCNA said. China has been North Korea's only major ally since the two signed the treaty in 1961, and international sanctions imposed over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs have made it more dependent than ever on Beijing for trade and other support. "Despite the unprecedentedly complicated international situation in recent years the comradely trust and militant friendship between the DPRK and China get stronger day by day," KCNA quoted Kim as saying in his message. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.People walk past the entrance of the International Medical Corps American field hospital ahead of its evacuation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 2, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Displaced Palestinians sit alongside their belongings in a van driving in al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 2, 2024. People talk in front of a sign referring to hostages kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 2, 2024. Palestinians use a path lined with destroyed buildings al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 2, 2024.
This handout photo released on June 2, 2024 shows South Korean military officers check unidentified objects believed to be North Korean trash from balloons that crossed the inter-Korea border, on a street in Seoul. In this photo provided by Jeonbuk Fire Headquarters, balloons with trash presumably sent by North Korea, hang on electric wires as South Korean army soldiers stand guard in Muju, South Korea, May 29, 2024.
A man takes a photograph of the election results at the National Results Operation Centre of the IEC in Midrand, South Africa, June 2, 2024. African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, briefs the media on results of the elections at the Results Operation Centre in Midland, Johannesburg, June 2, 2024.