This photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaking at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, raising the need to exponentially increase the number of its nuclear arsenal. (KCNA)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a letter to his Syrian counterpart hoping the country makes a speedy recovery from damage wrought by a devastating earthquake that recently struck the region, Pyongyang's state media said Friday.

In the message sent to President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, Kim also expressed "deep appreciation" to Syria for extending warm congratulations on the occasion of the 81st birth anniversary of his late father Kim Jong-il last week, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

"Being convinced that the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries will invariably develop, he wished that the government and people of the Syrian Arab Republic would eradicate the aftermath of the earthquake damage as soon as possible and make achievements in their struggle for the independent development and territorial integrity of the country under the correct leadership of the president," the KCNA said in an English-language report.

Kim earlier sent his condolence message to Assad on Feb. 7, a day after the earthquake hit the northern region of Syria. (Yonhap)