General Secretary Kim Jong Il together with Wen Jiabao, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, attended the closing ceremony and watched extravaganza "Arirang".

Present there were Yang Jiechi, minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Jiarui, head of the International Liaison Department of the C.C., the Communist Party of China, Zhang Ping, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission, Chen Deming, minister of Commerce, Cai Wu, minister of Culture, Xie Fuzhan, director of the Research Office of the State Council, Qiu Xiaoxiong, vice secretary-general of the State Council and director of the Premier's Office, Wu Dawei, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Liu Zhenqi, deputy director of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, and other suite members, staff members of the Chinese embassy here, Chinese guests staying in the DPRK and Chinese students.

Also present there were Kim Yong Il, premier of the DPRK Cabinet, Kim Yong Chun, vice-chairman of the NDC of the DPRK and minister of the People's Armed Forces, Kim Jong Gak, member of the NDC of the DPRK and first vice-director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, Kim Il Chol, member of the NDC of the DPRK and first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces, Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam, secretaries of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Ro Tu Chol, vice-premier of the Cabinet and chairman of the State Planning Commission, Pak Ui Chun, minister of Foreign Affairs, Kang Nung Su, minister of Culture, Kang Sok Ju, first vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Choe Chang Sik, minister of Public Health who is chairman of the Central Committee of the DPRK-China Friendship Association, Choe Jin Su, DPRK ambassador to China, and leading officials of party, armed forces and power bodies, working people's organizations, ministries and national institutions, officials in the fields of science, education, culture and arts, public health and media, servicepersons and working people in the city.

Speeches were made at the closing ceremony.

Kim Yong Il said: Since the establishment of diplomatic relations the peoples of the two countries have closely supported and cooperated in all fields of politics, military, economy and culture, weathering together all sorts of trials and tempests of history. This has made a positive contribution to encouraging socialist construction in the two countries and ensuring peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world.

Noting that the DPRK-China friendship is growing stronger at a new higher level under the deep care of Kim Jong Il and Hu Jintao, he stated that the historic "year of DPRK-China friendship" which was formally declared by the top leaders of the two countries offered an opportunity to re-confirm the importance of the friendly and cooperative relations between the two parties, two countries and two peoples which were forged and have grown stronger in the struggle for accomplishing their common cause and lay a solid foundation for carving out more beautiful future of DPRK-China friendship generation after generation.

It is the unshakable will of the WPK and the DPRK government to invariably consolidate and develop the DPRK-China friendship generation after generation, he said, stressing that the Korean people would as ever make every possible effort hand in hand with the Chinese people to expand and develop the DPRK-China friendly and cooperative relations.

Wen Jiabao said that he was very pleased to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the DPRK and hold a closing ceremony of the "year of Sino-DPRK friendship" together with Korean comrades.

He extended sincere salute and beautiful best wishes to the government and people of the DPRK and wholehearted thanks to all the participants on behalf of the government and people of China.

Multifarious exchanges and celebration events held between the two countries helped the peoples of the two countries promote the friendship between them and boost the friendly cooperation in all fields, he said, adding that this injected fresh energy into the development of the Sino-DPRK relations.

The Chinese side together with the DPRK side will consolidate and develop the traditional Sino-DPRK friendship and boost the cooperation and exchange and thus make a bigger contribution to bringing greater happiness to the peoples of the two countries and protecting the regional peace and stability.

The closing ceremony was followed by grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang", winner of "Kim Il Sung Prize."

At the end of "Arirang" the performers presented a chapter of friendship reflecting the strong will and desire of the peoples of the two countries to boost the traditional DPRK-China friendship generation after generation.

As the performance was over, the performers and audience broke into cheers of "hurrah!" shaking the stadium and fireworks were displayed to beautifully decorate the nocturnal sky of the capital city.

Kim Jong Il and Wen Jiabao warmly waved back to the enthusiastically cheering performers and audience.