Fostering friendship between Vietnam and Korea

Over the past 80 years since its founding, the Workers' Party of Korea has led the people in building and defending the country, achieving many admirable accomplishments. The friendship between Vietnam and Korea, meticulously nurtured by generations of leaders and people of both countries over the past 75 years, is a precious shared asset of the two nations.

A view of Pyongyang, the capital city.

Under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, founded by President Kim Il-sung (October 10, 1945), and succeeded by leaders Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un, the Korean people achieved significant accomplishments in building and defending a socialist country, especially in infrastructure development, mining, heavy industry, healthcare, and education during the 1960s and 1970s; overcoming numerous difficulties, particularly in energy and food, from the 1990s onwards.

Despite facing numerous challenges due to sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Eighth National Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (January 2021) emphasized the task of successfully building socialism, focusing on restructuring the economy , further enhancing national defense capabilities, promoting scientific and technological development, and comprehensively improving foreign relations.

The Congress set forth the National Economic Development Plan for the five-year period 2021-2025, affirming the spirit of "self-reliance and self-strengthening," focusing on the development of the metallurgical and chemical industries, and giving importance to agricultural development.

Following the guidelines set forth at the Eighth Congress, the Party has led the Korean people in strenuous efforts, gradually overcoming hardships and continuing to achieve successes in national defense and industry. The Party leads the State in focusing on socio-economic development through a "people-centered" policy, continuing to prioritize addressing urgent social issues such as housing and food; focusing on implementing the 20x10 Local Development Policy (building 20 modern factories in localities each year for 10 years, aiming to narrow the development gap between regions) and promoting the completion of 50,000 free housing units for workers in Pyongyang during the 2021-2025 period.

In 2022, 10,000 homes were built in Songsin and Songhwa districts. From 2023 to April 2025, 30,000 homes were completed in Hwasong district. The final phase of the project, also in Hwasong, with 10,000 homes, commenced in February and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam (January 31, 1950). Over the past 75 years, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Korea, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and President Kim Il Sung, has always been valued by the two Parties, the two States, and the people of both countries, and has been continuously strengthened and developed. Both sides have maintained mutual support and assistance in their respective national liberation struggles and socialist construction.

During the war of resistance against the US, Vietnam received both material and moral support from North Korea. North Korea provided Vietnam with equipment and machinery, helped train students and trainees, and sent pilots to Vietnam...

For its part, since the war, the Vietnamese people have repeatedly provided the Korean people with tens of thousands of tons of rice. In areas of cooperation, agriculture is one of the highlights. Vietnamese agricultural experts have helped their Korean counterparts grasp advanced techniques in rice breeding and cultivation, contributing to the recent bountiful harvests.

The traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and North Korea have continued to be strengthened and developed in recent years, culminating in the very important milestone of the official friendly visit of leader Kim Jong Un to Vietnam in early March 2019. Since the beginning of this year, the two countries have organized a series of activities within the framework of the Vietnam-North Korea Friendship Year, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

During his visit to North Korea in 1957, President Ho Chi Minh said: "Vietnam and North Korea may be far apart, but our hearts are very close. We are closely bound together by a fraternal bond. North Korean pilots shed blood for Vietnam. Not only did Vietnamese rice help the North Korean people overcome crop failures and famine, but Vietnamese agricultural experts also helped North Korean farmers gradually achieve food security. The two Parties, two States, and the people of the two countries will never forget this friendship, and will always cherish, preserve, and continue to cultivate it."

TO MINH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/vun-dap-tinh-nghia-viet-trieu-post913650.html