Kim Jong-un sent a personal message to China's Xi Jinping congratulating him on successfully controlling the coronavirus outbreak there, according to reports.
The North Korean leader sent the verbal message in a dispatch to the Chinese president praising his country's efforts at battling the disease, said Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
It comes days after Kim was photographed at a fertiliser factory, seemingly in good health despite unconfirmed reports he was gravely ill or dead following heart surgery.
The bug, which has killed over 270,000 people and officially infected nearly 4 million originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year, allegedly at a wet market.
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"Kim Jong-un in his message extended his warm greetings to Xi Jinping and congratulated him, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic," said KCNA.
Kim is also understood to have wished Xi good health and the KCNA report said the relations between Pyongyang and Beijing were "firmly consolidated".
North Korea has said it has no cases of the coronavirus, but previously reinforced border checks and anti-epidemic measures.
China, meanwhile, currently sits in 11th spot of the countries hit worst by the pandemic, with a recorded 82,886 cases and a total of 4,633 deaths.
North Korea has also lashed out at South Korea over recent military drills, state media has reported today.
A North Korean military representative said recent South Korean military drills were a grave provocation that demanded a reaction, reports KCNA.
North Korea cited a military exercise by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Air Combat Command on Wednesday, and said the drills violated inter-Korean agreements aimed at reducing military tensions.
Speculation had erupted about Kim's wellbeing after the despot missed an annual birthday celebration for his late grandfather - Kim Il-sung, the country's founder - on April 15.
Some theories suggest it was possibly a body double at the fertiliser factory, with Taiwan's National Security Bureau (NSB) director-general Chiu Kuo-cheng reporting last week the leader was "sick" and contingency plans were in place if he were to die.
