Since diplomatic ties were established between the two nations on January 31, 1950, their traditional friendship and solidarity, which was nurtured by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Kim Il Sung, have been continuously nourished.
President Ho Chi Minh paid an official friendly visit to the DPRK in 1957 and many high-level Vietnamese Party, State and Government leaders have visited the country. Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit in 2007 raised the two countries’ traditional friendship and solidarity to a new height.
President Kim Il Sung and many other high-level leaders from the DPRK have also visited Vietnam. A high-level delegation from the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), led by WPK Secretariat and SPA Chairman Choe Thae Bok, attended the Vietnamese Communist Party’s 9th Congress in 2001 and DPRK Cabinet Premier Kim Yong Il paid an official visit to Vietnam in 2007. These visits helped consolidate solidarity and co-operation between the two Parties, States and peoples, and created momentum to boost the development of their long-standing bilateral relationship.
The two sides have signed a number of important co-operation agreements in culture, science, technology, trade, and maritime navigation, as well as civil air transportation healthcare support, and visa exemptions for diplomatic and official/service passport holders. The Vietnam-DPRK Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technological Co-operation also maintains regular activities and its eighth session is scheduled to take place in Pyongyang in late August 2012.
The two countries share many similarities and and have stood together through many historical and cultural exchanges over the years. Both peoples emphathise with each other and have shared their difficulties during the course of their development, supporting each other in their respective causes for national liberation and construction.
Vietnamese people congratulate the people of the DPRK on their achievements in building socialism and working towards national peace and unification. The people of Vietnam also sympathise with the recent severe damage caused by natural disasters in the DPRK.
Vietnam hopes that under the leadership of the WPK, headed by First Secretary Kim Jong Un, the people of the DPRK will overcome temporary difficulties to forge ahead with building a prosperous and developed socialist DPRK.
The Party, State and people of Vietnam attach importance to developing the traditional friendship and solidarity between the two Parties and nations.
Vietnam consistently affirms its support for the legitimate aspirations of DPRK people for national unification and peace, and applauds the active developments to reduce tension on the Korean peninsula, promote harmony between the two parts of the peninsula and take steps toward resuming the Six-Party Talks. It also reiterates its support for a peaceful, stable, developed and denuclearised Korean Peninsula and hopes the DPRK will expand co-operation with the ASEAN bloc and its member countries.
May President Kim Yong Nam’s official friendly visit to Vietnam be successful, and contribute to consolidating and developing the traditional friendship and solidarity between the two countries in the interests of both peoples and for peace, stability, co-operation and development in the region and the world.