PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni has congratulated China on the successful landing of "Chang'e-3" probe on lunar surface.

"The Royal Family, the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia join me in extending our warmest congratulation and admiration to Your Excellency, the Communist Party, the Government, the People's Liberation Army, the great and heroic people of China on the complete success of impressive soft landing of the Chang'e-3 probe on the moon and deployment of the Yutu (Jade Rabbit) lunar rover,"the king said in his letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.

"This represented another milestone for China's continuous success in space program," he said.

Comprising a lander and a rover, Chang'e-3 lunar probe soft- landed on moon at 9:11 p.m. Saturday Beijing Time. Yutu later separated from the lander and rolled onto moon surface earlier Sunday.

The Chang'e-3 mission makes China the third country after former Soviet Union and the United States to put a spacecraft on lunar soil.