May 14 this year marked the 33rd anniversary of President Kim Il Sung’s meeting with Seyed Ali Khamenei, the then president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who paid a visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The history of friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Iran spanning nearly half a century is replete with the immortal exploits President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il performed for the development of the bilateral relations.

The President warmly welcomed President Seyed Ali Khamenei of the Islamic Republic of Iran on a visit to the DPRK from May 14 to 17 1989 as a friendly mission and friend, exchanged views on the issue of strengthening and developing bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation and other issues of common concern and reached a consensus on all issues discussed.

During his visit to the DPRK, a joint communiqué on developing bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation was made public and a plan for scientific, technological and cultural exchanges concluded between the governments of the two countries.

The historic meeting between Kim Il Sung and Khamenei marked a significant occasion in developing the bilateral friendly and cooperative relations onto a new stage and building a new independent Asia.

Later, Kim Il Sung met many high-ranking figures and delegations from Iran and talked with them on developing bilateral relations and offered selfless material and moral support to the Iranian people in their effort to build a new society, leaving an indelible trace in the history of friendly relations between the two countries.

Paying special attention to the development of relations with Iran, Chairman Kim Jong Il energetically led the Korean people to be always with the people of Iran in the struggle for strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement and the anti-imperialist independent forces, and rendered immortal services to the friendly and cooperative relations with Iran by supporting its people’s struggle to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country and regional peace and stability from all sorts of threat of aggression by the hostile forces.

Today the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Iran provided by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are further expanding and developing in various fields under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the DPRK.

In recent years, exchanges of high-level delegations between the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK and the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran have been promoted, making contributions to consolidating and developing the traditional friendly ties between the two countries.

The conclusion of an MOU on exchange and cooperation between the friendship parliamentary groups organized in the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK and the parliament of Iran provided favourable conditions for further intensifying unity and cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.

Under the banner of independence against imperialism, both countries are closely cooperating with each other in the international arena including UN and the non-aligned movement against aggression, interference, arbitrariness and inequality imposed by the imperialists in order to realize the cause of global independence, strongly demonstrating the tradition of friendship and solidarity.

The Korean people regard as their own the successes the Iranian government and people have achieved in the struggle to safeguard the sovereignty and dignity of their country and regional peace against all sorts of threat of aggression and moves of sanctions and pressure by the US and other hostile forces.

A saying has it that even a thousand miles seem only a hailing distance to bosom friends.

Though the DPRK and Iran are far away from each other geographically, both countries will always stand together in the struggle for independence against imperialism, and the history of the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries provided by President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il will go on in keeping with the aspirations and demands of the peoples of two countries.