On North Korea’s National day last week on September 9, Queen Elizabeth II sent a message to North Korean dictator Kim Jon-un, extending her good wishes. 

The United Kingdom’s Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) sent the message to the people of North Korea on the Queen’s behalf, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told CNN. 

“As the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea celebrate their national day, I send my good wishes for the future,” read the message by Queen Elizabeth, according to North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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As per Daily Mail’s report, KCNA reportedly confirmed that the message was sent in September 7. 

“Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), received a message of greeting from Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on September 7,” the report read.

The British Queen’s spokesperson added, “Her Majesty in all dealings with other Heads of State acts on the advice of the FCDO.” 

The Queen had sent a similar message to North Korea last year on her founding day too, an FCDO official told CNN. However, this marks the first time such news was revealed to the world.

North Korea celebrated her national day this year with a midnight military parade in Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un reportedly appeared on a platform in Kim Il Sung square. 

“The message from the Queen came just days before North Korea successfully test-fired new long-range cruise missiles over the weekend,” according to the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The test were carried out on Saturday and Sunday.

The missiles offer “another effective deterrence means for more reliably guaranteeing the security of our state and strongly containing the military manoeuvres of the hostile forces against the DPRK”, KCNA said.