June 24 is a significant day which marks the 46 th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

The history of friendly relations between the two countries based on the shared idea of anti-imperialism, independence and socialism dates back to 1965.

The great President Kim Il Sung met with Comrade Souphanouvong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Patriotic Front of Laos, who attended the commemorative events of 10 th anniversary of the Bandung Conference in Jakarta of Indonesia in April 1965, and had a significant first meeting with Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane who visited the DPRK in October that year.

Comrade Kaysone Phomvihane also visited the DPRK to meet with President Kim Il Sung in 1970 and 1977 respectively. And in April 1992, he paid an official visit to the DPRK as Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos and bestowed on President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il the highest orders of Laos.

This is why the Korean and Lao peoples take great pride together in the friendly and cooperative relations of the two countries, saying that the relations are traditional one personally provided and nurtured half a century ago by Kim Il Sung , the great President of the Korean people and Kaysone Phomvihane, the respected leader of the Lao people.

During these historical periods, the number of delegations exchanged at all levels between the two countries amounted to as many as over two hundreds, and number of treaties and agreements concluded in various fields reached more than twenty, all of which served to dynamically inspire and encourage the socialist construction of the peoples of the two countries.

The history and tradition of durable and sincere friendship, closely associated with the immortal exploits of the preceding leaders, are invariably inherited through centuries and generations.

On September 23, 2011, Chairman Kim Jong Il , together with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un met with Comrade Choummaly Sayasone, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, who visited the DPRK, and expressed the will of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK to actively develop the relations of friendship and cooperation as required by the noble intentions of the preceding leaders of the two countries and in conformity with the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries.

At that meaningful occasion, Comrade Choummaly Sayasone expressed his sincere thanks to the Korean Party, government and fraternal Korean people for having provided material and moral assistance to the Lao people in their struggle for national salvation and for building a new society in the past and also for continuing to render valuable cooperation as ever, and he underlined the invariable will of the Lao Party, state and people to hold and further strengthen and develop the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between Laos and the DPRK- an excellent and valuable heritage – in the future.

Under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Un , Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, our people will as ever continue to expand and develop the traditional bonds of friendship and cooperation with the Lao people in an all-round way in the political, economic, cultural and other fields, while working hand in hand for accomplishing the cause of socialism.

Korea-Asia Association