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| Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a nationally televised address from the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, capital of Venezuela, Aug. 4, 2018. Nicolas Maduro escaped unharmed from an attempted attack of explosive drones on Saturday. Xinhua-Yonhap |
North Korea unveiled Saturday that the Venezuelan president has sent a letter to the country's leader Kim Jong-un to reaffirm his commitment to cement ties with the North.
"(Leader) Kim Jong Un ... received a message of greeting from Nicolas Maduro Moros, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on July 27," the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported in English, 15 days after the correspondence took place.
North Korea celebrates July 27 as a war victory day, depicting the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, with the United States as its triumph.
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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju, right, visit a catfish farm factory in Samchon County in South Hwanghae Province, according to North Korean daily Rodong Shimmun on Aug. 6. Yonhap |
"The popular day of celebration will be an important occasion in displaying the two countries' intention to further strengthen the friendly ties between them and through the process it will promote the development, wellbeing and prosperity of the two peoples," the KCNA quoted the presidential letter as saying.
The letter said that it is also an important occasion to "demonstrate the will to continue the struggle ... to defend the sovereign right and right to self-determination of the people and consolidate the building of a multi-polar world free from the imperialists' moves for domination."
The Venezuelan president also extended a "warm greeting" to Kim and expressed "noble homage" to North Korean war heroes, according to the KCNA.
The belated release of its correspondence with Venezuela, a country that was financially sanctioned by the U.S. last year, came as North Korea is leading difficult negotiations with Washington over its nuclear weapons program and sanctions imposed by the U.S. (Yonhap)
