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North Korea’s state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) on the 6th aired a documentary covering Chairman Kim Jong Un’s visit to China from the 2nd to the 4th. The image shows Chairman Kim holding hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping while attending a banquet hosted by President Xi following a North Korea–China summit, as released by KCTV. (Photo: Yonhap News) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent New Year’s greeting cards to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 18th.
KCNA referred to the recipients only by their official titles, without naming them individually, listing them in the order of “the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and President of the People’s Republic of China and his spouse,” followed by “the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee,” among others.
While President Xi and his wife were mentioned first, the report merely stated that greeting cards were sent collectively to the leaders of Vietnam, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Belarus, and Algeria, without further elaboration.
As in earlier reports, KCNA did not disclose the contents of the greeting cards. This mirrors the coverage on January 1, when KCNA reported that President Xi and his wife had sent New Year’s greetings to Kim, also without revealing the message.
The restrained reporting contrasts with North Korea’s coverage of exchanges with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On December 27, North Korea reported that Kim had sent a New Year’s greeting to President Putin and published the full text on the front page of the ruling Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun. Earlier, on December 18, KCNA had reported that President Putin had sent a greeting message to Kim.
Although speculation emerged that North Korea–China relations were on the mend following a bilateral summit held in Beijing last year, the pattern of reporting on New Year’s greetings appears unchanged from a year earlier.
KCNA also said Kim sent New Year’s greeting cards to the chairman of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, the chairman of the Russian Peace and Unity Party, and the conductor of the Russian 21st Century Orchestra.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
