The Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Li Jinjun, has paid his tribute to a son of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who was killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, China's state-run media reported Monday.

Mao Anying, the eldest son of Mao, was killed in action in 1950 during the war and his tomb is located in Hoechang county of North Pyongan Province in North Korea.

Li paid the tribute on Sunday in the wake of China's traditional "Tomb Sweeping Festival," when Chinese people burn paper offerings to their ancestors, according to a report by Xinhua news agency from Pyongyang.

The report quoted Li as saying that the friendship between North Korea and China was "cemented by the blood" of the people of the two nations who were killed during the war, saying he hoped that the two nations can "overcome all difficulties."

China fought alongside North Korea in the war, while the United States and 20 other allied countries fought on the side of South Korea under the U.N. flag.

Li, former vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department that has been closely engaged with North Korea's ruling party, took up the post last month amid strained political ties between North Korea and China because of Pyongyang's defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has yet to visit China since taking the helm of the reclusive state in late 2011. Kim is likely to visit Russia in May in what would be his international debut and an apparent message of affront against China. (Yonhap)