North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Cuban Embassy in Pyongyang to express his condolences for the death of former leader Fidel Castro, the country's state media said Tuesday.
The rare visit by Kim came as North Korea on Monday began three days of mourning for Castro, whom the North calls a "close friend and comrade" to North Koreans. Castro died at age 90 on Friday.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that Kim expressed "deep" condolences, adding that Castro's name and feats will be "always be remembered."
The North's leader left his message in a mourners' book which says "We feel the pain of the loss of the great Comrade, the great comrade-in-arms, Kim Jong-un," according to the report.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un visits the Cuban Embassy in Pyongyang to pay tribute to Fidel Castro in this photo carried on Nov. 29, by the Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party's main newspaper. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)
Kim's visit is widely seen as aiming to show off Pyongyang's close ties with Havana. North Korea and Cuba have long maintained close ties since they established their diplomatic relationship in 1960.
On Monday, a delegation led by Choe Ryong-hae, a vice chairman of the ruling party's central committee, left for Havana to attend Castro's memorial services.
North Korea has ordered its people to "hoist flags at half-mast" and designated places to pay tribute to Castro. (Yonhap)
