Present there on invitation were Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, and his party and Valery Sukhinin, Russian ambassador to the DPRK.

Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and officials concerned were present there.

Pak Ui Chun said in his speech at the reception that the Russian people are making efforts to maintain the overall stability of the country and its economic development and raise its international position despite the worldwide financial crisis.

We will defend peace and security of the Korean Peninsula with the might of Songun in a responsible manner, he stressed.

He expressed the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Russia would grow strong in the spirit of the joint documents signed by the top leaders of the two countries and the treaty concluded between the two states.

The Russian foreign minister in his speech extended congratulations to General Secretary Kim Jong Il on his reelection as chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK at the First Session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly.

The firm stand of the Russian Federation to develop the relations with the DPRK is reflected in the treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation between the two countries signed in 2000, he noted.

The joint documents signed by the top leaders of the two countries have put spurs to the development of the Russia-DPRK relations, he said, wishing the Korean people fresh progress.