North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks with his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith in Pyongyang on Tuesday, according to DPRK state media, where the two promised to keep “boosting mutual cooperation.”

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Wednesday that Kim interpreted Thongloun’s visit, his first as president, as “an expression of the full support and encouragement of the Lao party, government and people for the cause of our Party and people.”

Thongloun “conveyed the best wishes and comradely greetings” of Laos to the DPRK government and people on the occasion of the DPRK ruling party’s 80th anniversary