N Korea leader pays respect to Chinese war dead at memorial

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid tribute to China’s war dead at a Pyongyang memorial and vowed to maintain firm ties with Beijing, as he seeks to bolster relations with his country’s main ally amid deepening hardships linked to the pandemic

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid tribute to China's war dead at a Pyongyang memorial and vowed to maintain firm ties with Beijing, state media reported Thursday, as he seeks to bolster relations with his country's main ally amid deepening hardships linked to the pandemic. Kim’s visit Wednesday to the Friendship Tower that honors Chinese soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War was his third since he took power in late 2011. It came a day after the 68th anniversary of the end of the war. “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 (North Korea) was undergoing the harshest and most difficult trials will remain immortal,” Kim said at the memorial, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. Kim stressed “the (countries’) friendship forged as kindred ties will be firmly carried forward generation after generation on the road for the common cause,” KCNA said.