China’s Xi lauds NKorea’s leader

SEOUL: Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, congratulating him on his election as ruling party chairman at a congress at which Beijing -- Pyongyang’s closest ally -- was notably absent.

In his message, Xi described ties with North Korea as a “precious asset” that was personally “cultivated by the leaders of the elder generation” the North’s official KCNA news agency said Tuesday.