Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a welcome ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Oct. 25, 2019. Reuters-Yonhap

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said he is ready to maintain "close communication" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and promote the two countries' ties, according to the North's state media, Saturday.

In a reply to a congratulatory message sent by Kim on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xi said he "firmly" supported Kim's pursuit of developing his country's economy and improving the people's livelihoods, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

"I am ready to keep close communication with you and achieve new and greater development of the China-DPRK relations with joint efforts," Xi said in the message.

DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Pompeo says North Korean launch 'consistent' with previous weapons tests 2019-11-02 10:31  |  North Korea 'Inter-Korean ties not in good shape' 2019-11-01 16:46  |  Politics Biegun asked to revive US-NK denuke talks 2019-11-01 16:23  |  Politics The reply, dated Oct. 30, came a month after Kim sent the congratulatory message for the anniversary.

After years of chilly relations following the North's nuclear and missile tests, Beijing and Pyongyang have recently boasted of their friendly relations as they marked the establishment of diplomatic relations, also 70 years ago.

Kim has traveled to China four times since March last year, and Xi visited Pyongyang in June, the first Chinese head of state to do so in 14 years.

They agreed to deepen ties and promised to cooperate on regional issues, including the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (Yonhap)