North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended a parade of paramilitary groups marking the country's 75th anniversary and held diplomatic contacts in which he pledged to deepen ties with China and Russia.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the parade was held on Friday at Kim Il Sung's Kim Square in Pyongyang, and that Kim held talks with a visiting Chinese delegation.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong attended the military parade, state media said Saturday.
The Chinese delegation's visit comes less than two months after high-level delegations from China and Russia also visited Pyongyang.
The official news agency said Chinese and Russian delegations attended the parade in Pyongyang in front of Kim.
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message expressing his willingness to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation at the task force level.
North Korean leader Kim attended the presentation of the founding anniversary (Reuters)
Congratulations and messages
Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent a letter to Kim, saying the two countries would strengthen bilateral ties to ensure security and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.
According to the Kremlin announced today, Putin congratulated the North Korean leader, calling for enhanced joint cooperation "on all axes."
In a congratulatory telegram to Kim, Putin said: "I am confident that thanks to our joint efforts, we will continue to strengthen. Our bilateral relations are on all axes."
"This is fully in line with the interests of our peoples" and contributes to ensuring "security and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia," he said.
"75 years ago, the Soviet Union was the first to recognize the new sovereign state that emerged on Korean soil," Putin said, stressing that "relations between the two countries since then have been based on the principles of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual respect."
The parade began at midnight following a ceremony before it on Friday evening, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an "informed source" as saying.
The overnight parade is the third military parade this year alone, the latter being held in July to mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the armistice in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953.