Kim Jong Un has sent a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to express condolences over casualties from the powerful earthquake that struck the island nation on New Year’s Day, in what appears to be the first time a North Korean leader has sent such a message to his Japanese counterpart.

“The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the prime minister and, through him, to the bereaved families and victims, upon the sad news that big casualties and material losses were caused by earthquakes in Japan from the outset of the new year,” the official party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Saturday.