Xi says China's commitment to friendship with North Korea will not change, reports KCNA

SEOUL, July 11 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said China's commitment to its traditional friendship with North Korea would not change no matter how the international situation evolved, according to letters exchanged with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and published by North Korean state news agency KCNA on Saturday (local time).

Kim, in a letter to Xi, said bilateral friendship and cooperation had reached a "new strategic level", KCNA reported.

North Korean Prime Minister Pak Thae Song arrived in Beijing on Friday for a three-day visit to attend an event marking the 65th anniversary of the friendship treaty between the two neighboring countries.

Xi traveled to Pyongyang last month for his first visit to North Korea in seven years, where he and Kim agreed to expand cooperation in political, economic and cultural areas.

The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, signed on July 11, 1961, remains China's only active mutual defense pact.

"No matter how the international situation changes, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government will continue to attach great importance to the traditional friendship between China and North Korea, will continue to firmly support North Korea's socialist cause under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Un, and will remain firmly committed to safeguarding the common interests of both countries and a favorable strategic environment," Xi said, according to a released quote.

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

Source: Antena 1