NK leader says 'kindred ties' with China will last for generations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed that "kindred ties" with China will carry on generation after generation as he visited a monument symbolizing friendly relations between the two countries, state media said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Kim visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, which was erected to commemorate China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War, and sent a wreath to mark the 68th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war, the Korean Central News Agency said.

"The noble soul and exploits of the Chinese people who aided the sacred historic struggle of the Korean people at the cost of their blood when the DPRK was undergoing the harshest and most difficult trials will remain immortal," Kim was quoted as saying.

"The DPRK-China friendship forged as kindred ties will be firmly carried forward generation after generation on the road for the common cause," he said, referring to the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Top officials accompanied Kim, including Jo Yong-won, secretary for Organizational Affairs of the party's Central Committee, and Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party who is believed to have been dismissed as a member of the Workers' Party of Korea's Presidium in a recent reshuffle.

Photos released by state media show Ri accompanying leader Kim on his left side in an indication that he has returned as the top military official.

Ri, however, appears to have failed to retrieve his position at the politburo's presidium, as the KCNA listed him after the secretaries of the ruling Workers' Party. No official is known to have filled up the position yet.

North Korea and China have emphasized their close and friendly relations amid stalemated nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington, and an escalating Sino-US rivalry.

Earlier this month, Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged messages to mark the 60th anniversary of signing their friendship treaty and stressed their commitment to further strengthen relations between the two countries. (Yonhap)