BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday extended congratulations to Choe Son Hui, foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), over the nation's 76th founding anniversary.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) over the past 76 years, the DPRK people have made remarkable achievements in the cause of socialist construction.

READ MORE: Xi congratulates DPRK on its 76th founding anniversary

China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the WPK, the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK have entered a new historical period and continued to develop steadily, Wang said.

Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the DPRK, and also is the "China-DPRK Friendship Year," Wang voiced readiness to work with Choe to guide the two countries' foreign ministries to implement the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries, so as to push for the constant consolidation and development of China-DPRK relations.