North Korean Leader Receives Cuban VP

HAVANA TIMES — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received Salvador Valdes Mesa, one of Cuba’s six vice presidents, and his delegation, on Thursday in Pyongyang at the climax of the Valdes’ visit to the Asian country, reported the official Granma newspaper.

The two politicians, Kim Jong Un, who holds all the important posts in the North Korean government, and Valdes, the former head of Cuba’s only permitted union organization, “identified ways to expand exchanges of experiences and expressed their desire to deepen cooperation in all possible areas,” said Granma.

Kim explained the immediate tasks ahead for the Korean Workers Party, with “the strategic priority given to economic development to satisfy the needs of the Korean people together with the strengthening of the country’s defense faced with the constant threats from US imperialism and its allies.”

For his part, Valdes reaffirmed Cuba’s support to the peaceful and independent reunification of Korea and noted “the principled positions taken by Cuba in the process of normalizing relations with the United States.”