Reply on the Occasion of Accepting the Letters of Credence from Mr. Kwon Ochik, Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the People’s Republic of China (March 18, 1952)

Mr. Ambassador:  It gives me great pleasure to accept, in the name of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the letters of credence tendered by Your Excellency on behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. I also wish to express my gratitude for the kindly sentiments which Your Excellency has conveyed, on behalf of the Korean people, to the Chinese people.

In their great patriotic war against U.S. imperialist aggression, the heroic people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have displayed a noble spirit of sacrifice, overcoming all difficulties and achieving decisive victory. The peoples of China and Korea are now engaged in a common struggle against the aggression of our common enemy, U.S. imperialism, in order to safeguard the security of our two countries and the peace of the Far East. As Your Excellency has rightly pointed out, the long-standing, mutually supportive friendship between the Chinese and Korean peoples has been forged in the noble blood shed during this common struggle. This struggle has transformed the close unity of our two peoples into a mighty force for the cause of peace. So long as the Chinese and Korean peoples remain forever united and continue to fight side by side, they will surely crush the U.S. imperialists’ plans of aggression against both our countries and make an extremely significant contribution to the preservation of peace in the Far East and throughout the world.

I warmly welcome Your Excellency to your post as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the People’s Republic of China, and I stand ready to render every possible assistance in your efforts to consolidate and develop the fraternal friendship between our two peoples.

May your country enjoy prosperity and its people thrive, and may its head of state enjoy robust health.  Printed in the People’s Daily, March 19, 1952.