Kim Jong-un touts leadership of China's Xi in birthday greetings

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un take a walk at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse in Pyongyang on June 21, 2019. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his 70th birthday, saying that Beijing's national power has "remarkably" strengthened under his leadership, Pyongyang's state media said Thursday.

In the message, Kim said that Beijing has "built a comprehensively well-off society" and that its "national power and international position remarkably strengthened" under Xi's "energetic" leadership, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The message expressed belief that the struggle for the prosperity of China will surely emerge victorious as there are the leadership of Xi Jinping and the Chinese party and people rallied around the Party Central Committee with him as its core," KCNA said in an English-language report.

Kim also said he is pleased to see Xi's achievements and wished him more success in his "important and responsible work" in leading China.

The North Korean leader sent a flower basket to Xi, which the North Korean ambassador to China delivered to the deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party on Tuesday, KCNA said.

The message came as the North has been seeking to strengthen ties with China, its traditional ally and economic benefactor, amid global sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs and stalled denuclearization talks with the United States.

Last October, Kim also sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday, lauding his leadership and expressing hope for bilateral ties between their countries to further develop.

Yonhap