China sent no delegation to the birthday anniversary of North Korea's late leader, Kim Jong-il, China's foreign ministry said Tuesday. 

North Korea commemorated the birthday of Kim, father of current leader Kim Jong-un, on Monday, with an event named the "Day of the Shining Star."

Asked whether China sent a delegation to the North Korean event, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying replied that officials at the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang attended the event.

"Yesterday was the Day of the Shining Star in North Korea," Hua said. "The Chinese embassy in North Korea attended the relevant activity upon the invitation of the North Korean side."

The late North Korean leader died in late 2011, taking the hereditary communist dynasty into a third generation.

Political ties between North Korea and China remain strained, particularly after the North's third nuclear test in February 2013. (Yonhap)