North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang on the anniversary of the signing of an armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, pledging not to forget the contributions of fallen Chinese soldiers, state media reported Sunday.
Kim also appeared to refrain from criticizing South Korea or the United States, as state media made no mention of him making such remarks during the ceremony.
Kim laid a wreath before the tower the previous day, saying that North Korea "would never forget the militant feats and merits of the fallen fighters of the Chinese People's Volunteers," the Korean Central News Agency said.
The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, bringing the Korean War to a halt. Since 1996, North Korea has marked the date as Victory Day, claiming it won the Liberation War against US-led aggression.
Erected in 1959 in Pyongyang, the Friendship Tower commemorates the contributions of Chinese soldiers who fought in the war and has since served as a symbol of North Korea-China friendship.
Kim has frequently paid tribute at the tower on past armistice anniversaries, using the occasion to highlight North Korea's relations with China. This year's report, however, made no mention of bilateral ties, a possible sign that relations have yet to fully recover.
North Korea's relations with China, its traditional ally and key economic benefactor, have appeared to have been strained, especially as Pyongyang aligned closer with Russia since they signed a mutual defense pact in June last year.
"By keeping mentions of its friendly relationship with China to a minimum, North Korea is sending a message that it can maintain its system and sovereignty on its own, and wants to show its diplomatic and military autonomy without provoking China," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies.
On Saturday, Kim also visited the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, the KCNA said.
During the visit to the museum, Kim placed a flower basket before a statue of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, claiming victory in the war and praising it as the "victory of the outstanding military ideology, Juche-oriented war methods and superb strategy and tactics" of the founder.
"Our state and its people would surely achieve the great cause of building a rich country with a strong army and become honorable victors in the anti-imperialist, anti-US showdown," the KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Kim, however, made no hostile remarks directed at the United States or South Korea.
The North Korean leader also separately met with servicemen of a battery under the Korean People's Army's 4th Corps and held a photo session, describing the unit "an example in implementing the Party's training-first policy."
Various celebratory events were held in Pyongyang to mark the anniversary, including an evening dance party by young students at Kim Il Sung Square on Saturday, the KCNA said. (Yonhap)
