North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping's re-election for a third term.
Kim said the people of China have "united firmly" under Xi's leadership in a statement to the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's propaganda arm.
"I would like to express my warmest congratulations to Comrade General Secretary for his re-election as President of the People's Republic of China at the First Session of the 14th National People's Congress of China," Kim's statement said.
"The fact that Comrade General Secretary continues to bear the heavy responsibility of the President of the People's Republic of China is a sign of the high trust and support of the Party, the government and the people of China."
The 69-year-old president has stacked the ranks of the National People's Congress and Communist Party with allies, making his election on Friday a formality. On Saturday, former Shanghai party committee secretary Li Qiang was appointed by congress as the nation's premier, in another move that reinforces Xi's rule.
