North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sends a congratulatory message and a flower basket to Chinese President Xi Jinping for his 73rd birthday, according to Pyongyang’s state media. Kim’s message, delivered through North Korea’s ambassador to China on the day before, is reported by the Korean Central News Agency. In the message, Kim tells Xi to have “good health” and expresses a wish for “greater success” in leading China’s “cause of socialist construction.” The flower basket includes a ribbon reading: “I warmly congratulate Comrade General Secretary Xi Jinping on your birthday.”
The gesture comes after Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Pyongyang last week—his first trip to North Korea in nearly seven years. During that visit, the two sides agree to deepen cooperation across politics, the economy and culture. They also pledge to strengthen high-level communication and to open a “new chapter” in bilateral relations. The reports present the birthday outreach as part of continued diplomatic engagement between the two leaders.
