BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday extended congratulations to Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), over the DPRK's 77th founding anniversary.

In his congratulatory message, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, pointed out that over the past 77 years, the WPK has united and led the people in the DPRK to forge ahead unremittingly and promote the continuous development of all socialist undertakings in the country.

In recent years, under the leadership of the WPK headed by Comrade General Secretary Kim, the people in the DPRK have strived hard to fulfill the goals and tasks set out at the 8th Congress of the WPK, and have achieved many gratifying accomplishments, Xi said.

Xi expressed his belief that the people in the DPRK will greet the WPK's 9th Congress with high spirits and outstanding achievements, and open a new chapter in the cause of building DPRK-style socialism.

Stressing that China and the DPRK are traditional friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, Xi said that it has always been the steadfast strategic guideline for the CPC and the Chinese government to maintain, consolidate and develop well China-DPRK ties.

Noting that a few days ago, Kim came to China to attend the events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Xi said that he met Kim again to jointly plan a blueprint for the development of relations between the two parties and the two countries.

Xi said the Chinese side stands ready to enhance strategic communication, maintain close exchanges and cooperation with the DPRK, and join hands to promote China-DPRK friendship and the socialist cause of the two countries, so as to make greater contributions to peace and development in the region and the world at large.