Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the standing committee of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, and Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress of China, together attended an opening ceremony in Pyongyang for the "year of North Korea-China friendship."

According to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) on Friday, Choe, speaking at the East Pyongyang Grand Theater the previous day, said the bilateral friendship is invincible and valuable in that it was forged in the struggle for anti-imperialistic self-reliance, peace and realization of socialist feat.

Zhao, for his part, said it is the Communist Party and the Chinese government's consistent strategic policy to successfully defend, consolidate, and develop their traditional bilateral friendship.

The two high-ranking officials watched celebratory performances and later took photos with the artists on stage.

Zhao, who is set to wrap up his three-day visit on Saturday, is expected to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.