The ties of friendship and cooperation between the DPRK and Vietnam have a long tradition.

At the invitation of President Ho Chi Minh who had visited the DPRK in July 1957, President Kim Il Sung paid a goodwill visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam at that time) in 1958 and visited it again in 1964.

His Vietnam visit in 1964 when the Vietnamese people were undergoing ordeals of war, in particular, was an expression of his noble internationalist obligation, which contributed greatly to further deepening the bond of friendship between the two countries.

That was why Ho Chi Minh said that Kim Il Sung was a genuine friend of the Vietnamese people, adding that no one but he rendered sincere assistance to the country which was in a difficult situation.

The bilateral relations of friendship have reached a new stage with the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un’s goodwill visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in early March 2019 as momentum.

As he expressed the stand of the Korean Party and state to carry forward the ties of friendship and cooperation sealed in blood between the two countries and two Parties through generations, true to the intention of the preceding leaders, at the talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Kim Jong Un affirmed the will to join efforts in the sacred struggle for providing the peoples of the two countries with happy future.

Nguyen Phu Trong said that the Vietnamese Party, government and people would not forget forever, but feel grateful for the great support and encouragement the DPRK gave to Vietnam in its struggle for national independence and liberation, adding that it is the firm stand of the Vietnamese Party and government to further develop the bond between the two Parties and two countries in the interests of the peoples of the two countries and for regional peace and stability while constantly attaching importance to bilateral relations.

The goodwill visit to Vietnam by Kim Jong Un was a landmark event of great importance in powerfully demonstrating the traditional ties of friendship and cooperation between the two Parties and two countries, steadily carrying on and developing them through generations and further bolstering up the bond of friendship between the peoples of the two countries.

Last year, the two countries celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and they kept close ties with each other this year, too.

Party congresses of great significance were held in the two countries along with the start of this year.

The Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea elected Kim Jong Un general secretary of the WPK and discussed detailed orientation and ways for its epochal advance of socialist construction in the DPRK.

Meanwhile, the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam held in the country set forth phased goals until 2045 to build a developed state in the mid-21st century, and Nguyen Phu Trong was reelected as general secretary of the Party Central Committee.

In the messages sent in congratulation of each other’s political events, the leaders of the two countries sincerely hoped that new progress would be achieved in their state building for prosperity.

The traditional friendly and cooperative ties of the two countries, which have always encouraged and supported each other in the efforts for independence against imperialism and for socialism, will further be strengthened and developed in the future.