TOKYO, November 2. /TASS/. China, despite changes in the international and regional situation, is ready to develop friendly relations with North Korea toward making an even greater contribution to the protection of peace and stability in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a telegram to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"China and the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] are friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and rivers and the traditional friendship between the two countries is growing stronger with the passage of time," Xi said in his message, as quoted by KCNA.

As the agency noted, Xi emphasized that "under the international and regional situation" he was ready to "make greater contributions to encouraging the China-DPRK relations" alongside with Kim. The Chinese leader also emphasized his intention "to advance and develop along with the times, providing the peoples of the two countries with better welfare and safeguarding the regional peace, stability, development and prosperity."

Xi’s telegram was sent in response to a congratulatory telegram from Kim on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The North Korean leader then noted that the Chinese Communist Party has made significant achievements in building up the country over the past 10 years. According to Kim, people in the DPRK are happy for the successes of the Chinese people as if they were their own.