The statue of President Hồ Chí Minh at the premises of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. — VNA/VNS Photos

PYONGYANG — General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation attended the inauguration ceremony of the statue of President Hồ Chí Minh at the premises of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday (local time).

The event took place as part of the Vietnamese leader’s state visit and attendance at the ceremony marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

In his opening remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to the DPRK Lê Bá Vinh stressed that President Hồ Chí Minh is the beloved leader of the Vietnamese people, a national liberation hero, a great man of culture, and a close friend of the DPRK people. He noted that the installation of the statue within the embassy's ground is not only a source of pride and joy for the Vietnamese people but also for the local people, who extended strong support and facilitation throughout the construction process.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee Tô Lâm and Cho Yong Won, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee, and head of the Organisation and Guidance Department of the WPK, in front of the new Hồ Chí Minh Statue. — VNA/VNS Photo

The ambassador recalled that Việt Nam and the DPRK established diplomatic relations 75 years ago, on January 31, 1950, with their traditional friendship personally founded by President Hồ Chí Minh and President Kim Il Sung. Since then, the two Parties, States, and people of Việt Nam and the DPRK have continuously nurtured and strengthened their long-standing friendship and cooperation, marked by mutual support and solidarity in the struggles for national liberation and socialist construction in each country.

Party General Secretary Tô Lâm and other delegates cut the symbolic ribbon to inaugurate the statue on October 10. — VNA/VNS Photo

He also recalled that during his official friendship visit to the DPRK in 1957, President Hồ Chí Minh affirmed that although the two countries are far apart geographically, their hearts are close, and though separated by thousands of miles, they are bound together like dear brothers.

At the ceremony, General Secretary Lâm and Cho Yong Won, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee, and head of the Organisation and Guidance Department of the WPK, cut the symbolic ribbon to inaugurate the statue. — VNA/VNS