North Korea's Leader Kim Jong-un Sends New Year Greeting Cards to Multiple World Leaders

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has sent New Year greeting cards to multiple world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the cards were addressed to various national leaders, with the recipients listed in a specific order. The KCNA report mentioned that the card was sent to 'the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the President of the People's Republic of China, and his wife,' followed by other leaders such as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. However, the report did not explicitly mention the names of the recipients, only their official titles.

The KCNA report also noted that Kim Jong-un sent greeting cards to leaders from countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Belarus, and Algeria. The content of these cards has not been made public, similar to the previous report on January 1st where Xi Jinping and his wife had sent New Year greetings to Kim Jong-un.

This approach contrasts with the detailed publication of exchanges between Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. On December 27th last year, KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un had sent a New Year card to Putin, and the full text of the message was published in *Rodong Sinmun*, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. Earlier, on December 18th, Putin had also sent a congratulatory message to Kim Jong-un.

According to Yonhap News Agency, some observers had speculated that relations between China and North Korea might be showing signs of improvement. However, based on the recent New Year card exchange reports, there does not appear to be any significant change in bilateral relations compared to the previous year.

Additionally, Kim Jong-un also sent New Year greeting cards to other prominent figures, including the chairman of Russia's ruling party *United Russia* and the conductor of the Russian State Symphony Orchestra.