Syrian President Bashar Assad expressed on Wednesday his intention to visit Pyongyang and meet with country’s leader Kim Jong-un, North Korean Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported on Sunday.

Assad made the statement during a presentation of credentials to newly appointed North Korean diplomats, according to the Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

The Syrian president reportedly pointed out that the basis for friendly relations between Damascus and Pyongyang had been established by his father, former Syrian leader Hafez Assad and expressed his belief that two Korean states would be reunified one day.