Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday congratulated North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his reelection as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported.

According to Anadolu Agency, Xi, who also serves as general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expressed his readiness to work with Kim to "write a new chapter" in China-North Korea friendship, Beijing-based Xinhua News reported. Kim was reelected as general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea at the party's ninth Congress in Pyongyang on Sunday.

North Korea's ruling party, rather than the state presidency, holds the highest power structure in the country. The general secretary position is the top party role and effectively the nation's most influential office.