N. Korea's Kim vows to bring bilateral ties to 'new strategic level' in letter to Xi

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday reaffirms his commitment to lifting bilateral relations with China to a "new strategic level" in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping marking China's National Day, Pyongyang's state media reported. In the letter for the 77th anniversary of the country's founding, Kim extended "the warmest congratulations and best wishes" to Xi and the Chinese people, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim noted the two countries marked the 65th anniversary of their friendship treaty this year and are promoting exchanges "in all fields." "The history of the DPRK-China friendship, which was forged at the cost of blood and has been carried forward with genuine comradely friendship, can never be shaken no matter how the international situation may change," he wrote. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. It is his country's "steadfast will" to "steadily develop the traditional relations of unity and cooperation" with China, he added. He also referred to his two recent summits with Xi. "I had meaningful meetin