Present there on invitation were Vice-President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Yang Hyong Sop, Minister of Education Kim Yong Jin who is chairman of the Korea-Cuba Solidarity Committee, Minister of Agriculture Ri Kyong Sik, Acting Chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Mun Jae Chol and diplomatic envoys of different countries here.

Staff members of the Cuban embassy were present there.

Jose Manuel Galego Montano in his speech at the reception referred to the fact that the Cuban people achieved the country's full independence through a protracted struggle under the guidance of Fidel Castro Ruz.

He said that the Cuban people have registered great successes in various fields such as education, culture and public health despite the imperialists' persistent blockade.

He expressed gratitude to the fraternal Korean people for having voiced strong support to the Cuban people's struggle.

He wished the heroic Korean people great success in the future, too, under the leadership of Supreme Commander Kim Jong Il. He stressed that Cuba would make positive efforts to boost the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

Yang Hyong Sop in his speech recalled that Fidel Castro Ruz and other Cuban revolutionaries waged a heroic armed struggle, thus toppling the pro-U.S. dictatorial regime and building a genuine country for the people and establishing a socialist system.

He said that the Cuban government and people have dynamically advanced along the road chosen by themselves under the correct guidance of their leadership and further elevated the country's international prestige.

It is the steadfast stand of the Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government to steadily develop the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Cuba, he noted, expressing belief that the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would grow more vital in the future, too.