Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has expressed hope that South Korea will overcome the novel coronavirus outbreak, Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in's office said on Thursday. 

Yoon Do-han, senior Blue House press secretary, told a press briefing that Kim sent his letter to Moon on Wednesday to console the ROK people fighting against the COVID-19 outbreak. 

As of Thursday morning, ROK reported a total of 5,766 infected patients. 

In the letter, Kim said he believed that South Korea would prevail over the outbreak without fail, expressing his wish for good health of his compatriots in the south. 

Kim showed his worry about the health of Moon, saying he will continue to quietly send his best wishes for Moon to overcome the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Through the letter, Kim expressed his "candid" thoughts and positions on the situation of the Korean Peninsula, but the Blue House did not elaborate on it. 

In response, Moon sent his letter to Kim Thursday to express his gratitude.

It was the first time this year that the leaders of the two Koreas exchanged letters. 

In 2019, Kim sent a letter to Moon in October to console the ROK president for his mother's death, while Moon delivered his letter to Kim to invite him to the special summit between ROK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held in the southeastern port city of Busan in November.   

(With input from Xinhua)