Queen Elizabeth II congratulates North Korea on national day 0:42
London (CNN) -
Queen Elizabeth sent a message of congratulations to the North Korean people on their national day, a Buckingham Palace spokesman told CNN.
The message was sent on behalf of the queen by the UK's Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) "as has been done before," the spokesman said.
This is standard practice on other national days around the world, the Palace added.
"His Majesty in all dealings with other Heads of State acts on the advice of the FCDO," the spokesman said.
"As in previous years, Her Majesty the Queen sent a message to the people of the DPRK on the occasion of their National Day," added a spokesman for the UK FCDO.
North Korea celebrated its national day, to mark the 73rd anniversary of its founding, on September 9.
He commemorated the date with a midnight military parade in Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appeared on a platform in Kim Il Sung Square and greeted the crowd, but his speech was not mentioned, according to state media Rodong Sinmun.
North Korea holds a military parade in the middle of the night
North Korean state media KCNA published the message on Monday, reporting that "Kim Jong Un, Chairman of State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), received a greeting from Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, September 7. "
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According to KCNA, the message read: "As the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea celebrate their National Day, I send you my best wishes for the future."
The notoriously lonely country cut nearly all of its ties to the outside world in 2020 to prevent an influx of coronavirus cases.
North Korea has not reported a major covid-19 outbreak, and there have been no indications that one has occurred, although experts doubt Pyongyang's claim that the country has not seen a single case of the virus.
Most, if not all, foreign diplomats and humanitarian workers have fled the country, citing a shortage of goods and extreme restrictions in daily life.
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In June, Kim fired several senior officials who failed to enforce North Korea's strict covid-19 prevention, state news agency KCNA reported.
It appears that some high-ranking members of the ruling Korean Workers' Party have been replaced, KCNA said.
CNN's Max Foster reported from London, England, and Gawon Bae from Seoul, South Korea.
North Korea