North Korea's state media on Wednesday did not mention Cuba when it reported a list of countries that have sent congratulatory messages over the 112th birthday in April of the North's late founder Kim Il-sung. North Korea might have intentionally left out Cuba in an apparent expression of its complaints over Cuba's establishment of diplomatic ties with South Korea in February. Pyongyang has long touted its brotherly ties with the Caribbean nation. The North's official Korean Central News Agency and the Rodong Sinmun, the main newspaper, carried reports about a long list of officials from various countries who have sent congratulatory messages to Pyongyang over the late founder's birthday that fell on April 15. China, Russia, Syria and Mongolia were among such countries, but Cuba was not included in the list. Since North Korea and Cuba established diplomatic relations in 1960, the two Cold War-era allies had maintained close ties and deepened exchanges based on their shared values of anti-U.S. and anti-im perialist stances. But Seoul and Havana's surprise announcement on the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in mid-February appears to be a heavy blow to Pyongyang at a delicate time when North Korea has defined South Korea as its "primary foe." On the occasion of Kim's birthday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on social media platform X that he was sending "affectionate greetings" to North Korea's ruling party, the government and its people. "We remember his indelible legacy to socialism and the strengthening of the historic and invariable solidarity and brotherhood between #Cuba and DPRK," read Diaz-Canel's message translated into English. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez also celebrated the birthday of the North's late founder, saying on his X account that "friendly ties, cooperation and mutual support between both countries are historical and invariable." Late Cuban President Fidel Castro visited North Korea in 1986 at the invitation of the then leader Kim Il-sung, the grandfath er of the incumbent leader Kim Jong-un. Source: Yonhap News Agency