North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent his condolences to the victims of the deadly Yangtze cruise ship sinking last week that killed more than 430 people, China’s state-run newspaper reported Friday.
Kim is among about 20 world leaders who sent their condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang between Monday and Thursday, the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party, reported.
Among those leaders are Queen Elizabeth II and the leaders of Nepal, Kazakhstan, Italy, Ethiopia and Angola, according to the report.
The four-deck cruise ship, Eastern Star, was carrying 456 people when it capsized on the Yangtze River on June 1. Only 14 people survived.
China is North Korea’s economic lifeline and diplomatic backer, but their political ties remain strained over the North’s defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Kim has yet to visit China since taking the helm of North Korea in late 2011. (Yonhap)
