On this occasion, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu answered press interviews about the meaning and importance of the visit.
Deputy Minister, please tell us about the meaning and purpose of General Secretary To Lam's State visit to North Korea and attendance at the 80th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Korean Workers' Party?
At the invitation of General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un, General Secretary To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will pay a State visit to the DPRK and attend the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea from October 9 to 11, 2025. This visit is very special, being Comrade To Lam's first visit to the DPRK as General Secretary and the first State visit by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to the DPRK in 18 years.
The visit took place at a time when the two countries were celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (1950 - 2025) and the Vietnam - Korea Friendship Year 2025, vividly demonstrating the importance that the two Parties and States attach to the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Korea. This visit has three very important meanings and purposes:
First of all, this visit continues to affirm Vietnam's consistent foreign policy of valuing relations with traditional friendly countries. North Korea is one of the first countries in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam (since 1950). This is a traditional friendship that was painstakingly cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh, President Kim Il Sung and generations of leaders of the two countries. In the struggle for national liberation, North Korea was also a country that stood side by side with and helped Vietnam. Vietnam has always supported and accompanied North Korea in difficult times.
Second, the visit is a very important occasion for the top leaders of the two Parties and two countries to discuss and agree on strategic orientations to inherit and promote the traditional friendship between the two Parties and two countries, strengthen bilateral cooperation in the new period in accordance with relevant international regulations and meet the aspirations and wishes of the people of the two countries, especially in areas such as health, culture, sports, people-to-people exchange, and agricultural cooperation.
Third, as an active and responsible member of the international community, with this visit, Vietnam continues to demonstrate its consistent support for trends, efforts and contributions to peace, stability and development cooperation on the Korean peninsula, in the region and in the world.
With such significance and importance, on the basis of the traditional friendship between Vietnam and the DPRK over the past 75 years, I firmly believe that the State visit of General Secretary To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation will be an important milestone, contributing to further enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation between the two Parties and two countries, meeting the aspirations and wishes of the people of the two countries and at the same time contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
Could you please assess the Vietnam - North Korea relationship in recent times and your expectations for this working trip of the General Secretary?
In recent years, despite objective difficulties due to the international and regional situation, with the foundation of long-standing traditional friendship and the will and desire for continuous cooperation between the two countries, the Vietnam-DPRK relationship continues to develop stably and firmly and has achieved a number of encouraging and outstanding results.
First of all, the two sides maintained high-level and all-level delegation exchanges, with a special highlight being the official friendship visit to Vietnam by General Secretary and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un in March 2019. In recent times, high-level and all-level leaders of the two countries have maintained contact and exchanges in flexible forms such as sending letters and telegrams to each other during important events of each country, thereby strengthening the friendship and political trust between the two sides.
The two sides have signed a number of bilateral cooperation agreements in the fields of culture, health, civil aviation transport, judicial assistance, investment promotion and protection, double taxation avoidance, etc.; maintained a number of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms such as the Political Consultation at the Deputy Foreign Minister level, the Intergovernmental Committee on economic-trade, scientific-technical cooperation on the basis of suitability to each country's needs as well as international regulations.
Cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange are bright spots in the friendship between the two countries with diverse forms such as exchanges of art and cultural delegations, sports exchanges, participation in the annual Spring Arts Festival, and the Pyongyang International Film Festival. Exchange activities between people's organizations are maintained and expanded, especially activities within the framework of the Vietnam-DPRK Friendship Year 2025 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, thereby helping people of the two countries, especially the young generation, to understand more deeply the traditional relationship and good friendship between the two Parties, States and peoples.
With the above good cooperation results and the goodwill and efforts of both sides, we believe that this historic visit will create new achievements for the relationship between the two countries. This is also a very important occasion for both sides to share in a practical, sincere and frank manner about the international and regional situation of mutual concern, and to make responsible and constructive contributions to promoting dialogue, maintaining peace, cooperation and development on the Korean peninsula, in the region and in the world.
Thank you very much, Deputy Minister!
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/chuyen-tham-cong-hoa-dan-chu-nhan-dan-trieu-tien-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-la-dau-moc-quan-trong-20251008090759117.htm
![[Photo] Closing of the 13th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/10/08/1759893763535_ndo_br_a3-bnd-2504-jpg.webp)
Comment (0)