A senior North Korean party official has underscored the need to solidify friendly ties with Vietnam during his meeting with a ranking Vietnamese official in Hanoi, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday. Kim Song-nam, director of the international department at the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, met with Truong Thi Mai, head of the central organization commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the previous day, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim arrived in Hanoi on Monday from China for the second leg of his three-nation trip that will also take him to Laos. "He stressed the need to consolidate friendly unity (between the two countries) on the path toward a constant march toward socialist feats and strengthen mutual solidarity and cooperation in the international arena," the KCNA said. His trip appears to be aimed at strengthening North Korea's ties with countries sharing the socialist ideology after South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba last month. Pyongyang has long boasted brotherly ties with Cuba. Source: Yonhap News Agency