KIM SENDS XI DIRECT MESSAGE

BEIJING/SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has offered his congratulations to China’s Xi Jinping upon his re-election as president, North Korean state media said on Sunday, in a rare direct message from Pyongyang to Beijing after ties nosedived.

In the message, Kim said he hopes China will make even greater achievements under Xi’s leadership. “Expressing belief that the bilateral relations would develop in the common interests of the peoples of the two countries, the message wished the Chinese president big success in his responsible work,” the North’s official KCNA news agency said in a report.