Seoul, Jun 29 (IANS): North Korea has completed the renovation of a tower symbolising its friendship with China as the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War approaches, Pyongyang's state media said on Thursday.

A ceremony marking the completion of the project, which was carried out upon North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's order, took place in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The event came as the North has been seeking to boost ties with China, its traditional ally and economic benefactor, amid global sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs, and stalled denuclearisation talks with the US, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Participants, including Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Chinese Ambassador Wang Yajun, highlighted their history of friendship and vowed to bolster this relationship going forward.

The Korean War armistice was signed July 27, 1953, a little over three years after tank-led North Korean troops invaded South Korea.

The US and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the UN flag.

Calling the conflict the Great Fatherland Liberation War, North Korea has designated the anniversary as Victory Day.