China extends congratulations to North Korea on 75th founding anniversary

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message Saturday to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the 75th anniversary of that country's founding, according to media reports.

“China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and river,” state-run Xinhua News quoted Xi.

"The traditional friendship between China and the DPRK has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and has grown stronger with time," said Xi.

He noted that the two leaders have met five times in recent years, maintained close communication through various ways and jointly led “traditional friendly and cooperative relations” between the two nations into a new era.

He noted that “momentous changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world,” and said it has always been the unchanging position of China to preserve traditional friendly ties between China and North Korea, regardless of how the international and regional situation changes.

The statement came at a time when the recent missile tests and military exercises on the Korean Peninsula increased tensions in the region.