By Kim Young-jin
Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho, a senior North Korean military official, arrived in Havana Thursday for a five-day visit aimed to strengthen military ties between the communist countries, reports said.
Ri and his delegation will meet with senior officials of the Cuban army and visit military units and education centers, as well historical and cultural sites, the Cuban News Agency reported.
On Friday, Ri laid a wreath at the mausoleum holding the remains of Antonio Maceo, a commander in the Cuban revolutionary army.
The two states maintain strong ties based on their common communist history. In April, Ri met with a high-level Cuban military delegation in Pyongyang to reignite the ties.
It is the first trip to Cuba by Ri, who was promoted to the vice marshal post as part of a September leadership reshuffle thought to pave the way for a hereditary power transfer in the secretive state. He was also named, along with Kim Jong-il’s heir apparent son, to the country’s powerful Central Military Commission.
Former President Fidel Castro has been a vocal supporter of the North. After the Seoul-led investigation into the sinking of the warship Cheonan found a North Korean torpedo attack responsible, Castro called the findings a “strange fabrication.”