Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to carry forward the traditional friendship between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the Friendship Tower in Pyongyang Friday, during his state visit to the DPRK.

The Friendship Tower, built on October 25, 1959, commemorates the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) who sacrificed their lives in the Korean War. At the memorial ceremony, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan laid a wreath and paid silent tribute to the martyrs at the tower while accompanied by DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju.

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Xi highlighted the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, stressing that the younger generation should memorize and carry forward the friendship so as to benefit the two peoples and to promote the regional peace, stability and prosperity.

Xi also noted that the visit to the Friendship Tower is to cherish the memory of the martyrs and to review the glorious history of the older generations who fought side by side, adding that the visit also shows the unwavering determination of the two sides in maintaining peace and developing socialism.

Kim echoed Xi's remarks, saying that the Friendship Tower is a monument for the bilateral friendship. The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), government and the people will always remember the great sacrifice of the CPV in the resistance against invasion, he stressed.

Kim also vowed to further develop the friendship while enhancing cooperation and promote new and greater achievements in bilateral relations.

Xi also visited the exhibition hall of the tower and wrote down in the inscription book "To remember the martyrs" and "The China-DPRK friendship lasts from generation to generation."

(Cover: The Friendship Tower in Pyongyang, DPRK, June 21, 2019. /Xinhua Photo)