North Korea's Kim offers condolences to China's Xi about virus outbreak: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in this undated photo released on December 31, 2019 by North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (REUTERS File Photo)

BEIJING, February 1 (Reuters): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping offering condolences about the coronavirus outbreak in China, North Korean state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday.

Kim "expressed the conviction that the party, government and people of China would surely emerge victorious in the campaign to combat the disease" under Xi's guidance, KCNA said.

China is the closest ally that isolated North Korea has. The country has cancelled most flights to China, imposed mandatory quarantine on all arrivals from China, and heavily restricted border crossings following the outbreak.