When he appeared in the auditorium the audience broke into the stormy cheers of "Hurrah!" and extended the warmest lunar New Year greetings to him, representing the unanimous reverence of all the servicepersons and people for him.

He warmly congratulated them on the lunar New Year, acknowledging their enthusiastic cheers.

Among the audience were Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, Jang Song Thaek and Kim Yang Gon, department directors of the WPK Central Committee, Kang Sok Ju, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Ri Je Gang and Ri Jae Il, first vice department directors of the WPK Central Committee, Kim Ki Ryong, director general of the Korean Central News Agency, Cha Sung Su, chairman of the Central Broadcasting Committee of Korea, and other leading officials, KPA Generals Hyon Chol Hae, Kim Myong Guk and Ri Myong Su and other commanding officers of the army.

The repertoire of the performance included male chorus "Song of General Kim Jong Il", male solos and male choruses "Song of Comradeship" and "We Started from Scratch", male choruses "The Forest Sways" and "The Sound of a Horse's Hooves in Mt. Paektu", male solo and male chorus "For the Motherland" and female quartet "The Blue Sky over My Country".

The performance replete with militant stamina truthfully represented the unshakable faith and will of the army and people to accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche under the leadership of
Kim Jong Il, holding higher the red flag of the revolution.

When the performance was over, he waved back to the enthusiastically cheering performers and audience and congratulated the artistes on their successful presentation.

Greatly satisfied with the splendid performance reflecting the faith and will of Korea and the revolutionary soldier spirit given by the artistes of the State Merited Chorus, he expressed the expectation and conviction that all of them would conduct dynamic revolutionary art activities and thus fully display the might of buglers in the Songun era in the worthwhile drive in the new year, too.