North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pays respects to fallen soldiers ahead of armistice anniversary

Seoul, July 26 (IANS) North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited cemeteries to pay respects to the country's soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War and to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, state media said on Wednesday.

The Korean War ended with an armistice agreement on July 27, 1953, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The North calls the war the Great Fatherland Liberation War and designated the armistice signing date as Victory Day.

Kim visited the Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang on Tuesday on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, and was accompanied by Defence Minister Kang Sun-nam and other military leaders, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The visit marked Kim's first public appearance in nearly two weeks.

He was last seen in public guiding the launch of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on July 12.

Kim also visited the cemetery of martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) in Hoechang county, South Pyongan province, to pay "high tribute" to the fallen Chinese soldiers on the occasion of the armistice anniversary, the KCNA said in another report.

China fought alongside the North against South Korean, US and UN troops during the Korean War.