N. Korea issues stamps marking key treaty with China, Xi's Pyongyang visit

The Pyongyang-based Korea Stamp Corp. unveils a new stamp marking the June 8-9 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Pyongyang, in this image captured from the company's website. Yonhap

North Korea has issued new stamps to mark the 65th anniversary of the signing of its mutual defense treaty with China and Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Pyongyang last month.

The Pyongyang-based Korea Stamp Corp. unveiled the two stamps on its website — one commemorating the signing of the North Korea-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance on July 11, 1961, by the North's state founder Kim Il-sung and then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, and the other marking Xi's June 8-9 state visit to North Korea, his first in seven years.

The corporation described the summit between the two leaders as "a historic occasion that opens a new era of friendship and cooperation, carrying on the tradition through generations and blazing a trail toward a more beautiful future."

At the summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Xi vowed to strengthen bilateral ties through expanded exchanges across multiple sectors, from economy to culture, as well as more frequent high-level visits.

The two leaders have since exchanged letters on the occasion of Xi's birthday on June 15 and again to mark the founding of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1.

The treaty's signing anniversary falls on July 11, when the two countries are expected to hold congratulatory events and announce follow-up measures to deepen ties — particularly following Xi's remarks at the summit on the importance of marking the occasion.

North Korea issued similar commemorative stamps in April 2018 marking Kim's first state visit to China the previous month, and in 2011 for the treaty's 50th anniversary.