North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, left, meets with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the Iranian capital Tehran, Aug. 8, 2018. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed his "deep" condolences over the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a recent helicopter crash, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim sent a message of condolence Monday to Mohammad Mokhber, Iran's first vice president, upon receiving the "shocking" news of Raisi's sudden demise, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Mokhber has become Iran's interim president after Raisi's death.

"The message said that the demise of the president is a great loss to the fraternal Iranian people and the world people aspiring after independence and justice," the KCNA said.

Kim said he wished that the Iranian government and people will overcome the grief from the loss of their leader and that the bereaved families will recover stability as soon as possible.

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Iran's state media confirmed Raisi's death Monday, saying he and several other government officials accompanying him were found dead hours after their helicopter crashed in a mountainous region of the country's northwest.

Having established diplomatic ties in 1973, Pyongyang and Tehran are known to have close ties while under international sanctions for their weapons programs. The countries have been suspected of exchanging ballistic missile parts and technology, especially during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

North Korea's external economic relations minister visited Iran last month in a rare trip that raised suspicions of possible weapons cooperation between the two nations. (Yonhap)