North Korea and Vietnam have declared 2025 a “year of friendship,” and their leaders recently exchanged messages celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

The North’s state Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported on Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message to Vietnamese President Luong Cuong on the occasion of the anniversary.

In the message, Kim said the two countries’ ruling parties and governments have set this year as a year of friendship in line with the common aspiration and desire of the peoples of both countries to develop their friendly, cooperative relations.

The KCNA also said the Vietnamese leader sent Kim a message on Wednesday last week, saying the traditional relations between the two nations had been cultivated by the peoples and leaders of several generations in both countries, including former Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and North Korean national founder Kim Il-sung.

The Vietnamese president was quoted as saying the two nations will engage in various significant activities in relation to the year of friendship.