Xi Jinping congratulates Kim on new title

Chinese President Xi Jinping extended his congratulations to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his new title of chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, underscoring traditional ties between the communist neighbors despite recent strains. Writing in his personal capacity and as head of China’s ruling Communist Party, Xi expressed hope that Kim’s leadership would bring “new accomplishments in the cause of building socialism,” China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported. Ties between China and North Korea were “personally forged and carefully fostered by the two countries’ leaderships of the older generation and is a treasure for both sides,” Xi wrote, according to Xinhua. China stands ready to work for further improvements in bilateral relations and to make “positive contributions to safeguarding peace, stability and development in the region,” Xi wrote. China fought for North Korea in the 1950-53 Korean War and ties were close for decades afterward. However, North Korea has rejected China’s calls for economic reforms and Kim has yet to visit China, despite its status as the North’s key source of financial and diplomatic support.

Ex-army chief, who Seoul said was executed, is alive

A former North Korean military chief who Seoul had said was executed is actually alive and in possession of several new senior-level posts, the North’s state media said yesterday. The news on Ri Yong Gil marks yet another blunder for South Korean intelligence officials, who have often gotten information wrong in tracking developments with their rival. It also points to the difficulties that even professional spies have in figuring out what’s going on in one of the world’s most closed governments. Ri, who was considered one of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s most trusted aides, missed two key national meetings in February. Seoul intelligence officials later said that Kim had him executed for corruption and other charges. Kim has reportedly overseen a series of killings, purges and dismissals since he took power in late 2011, part of what foreign experts call an attempt to tighten his grip on power. The South’s report on Ri’s execution seemed to be bolstered later in February when Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency confirmed Ri had lost his job by describing someone else as chief of the North Korean military’s general staff.

Chairman’s younger sister gets new post during congress

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister is among the officials who won new posts at the country’s ruling-party congress. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday that Kim Yo Jong was named a member of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee during the congress that ended Monday. Kim Yo Jong has served as a vice department director with the Central Committee, which is among the party’s leading bodies. Believed to be in her late 20s, she frequently appears at her brother’s public events, standing out amid elderly male officials.