China appreciated that the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un visited the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang to express his condolences and visited injured Chinese citizens in hospital after a major road accident, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.
Thirty-two Chinese tourists and four DPRK citizens were killed in the accident that occurred on Sunday evening in the DPRK.
Kim, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, paid a visit to the Chinese Embassy in Pyongyang early Monday morning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a routine press briefing.
Lu said Kim expressed his profound condolences for the casualties caused by the accident and conveyed his heartfelt sympathies to Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, to the Party and government of China, and to the victims and their families via Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun.
Kim also visited the hospital where two injured Chinese citizens are being treated, saying that the DPRK would spare no efforts to treat the injured and work with China to make follow-up arrangements, Lu said.
"The DPRK government attaches great importance to the accident," he said, noting that relevant departments of the DPRK responded immediately, and senior Party and state leaders as well as officials of relevant departments visited the scene of the accident and the hospital to oversee the rescue efforts.
China and the DPRK are in close communication and coordination at present, Lu said, adding that any related progress will be advised without delay.
