Present there were officials of the State Duma, the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry of Russia, the "Russian Railways" Company, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Russian Association for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK, officials in the fields of media and culture and arts and Yazov, former minister of defense of the Soviet Union.

The participants placed a floral basket and bouquets before a full-length picture of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and paid tribute to them.

They looked round photos and books put on display under the themes "Kindling Torch of Great Revolutionary Surge" and "Kim Jong Suk, Mother of Korea".

Speeches were made.

The DPRK ambassador to Russia referred to the vigorous drive being waged by the Korean people to fling open the gate to a great prosperous and powerful nation in 2012, the centenary of birth of the President, closely rallied around Kim Jong Il.

The DPRK-Russia relations are developing on good terms in accordance with the joint documents signed by the top leaders of the two countries and in the spirit of the inter-state treaties, he added.

The chairperson of the Party for Peace and Unity of Russia said the Korean people have registered shining successes in the confrontation with the U.S. as they are holding Kim Jong Il as the great leader. All the achievements made by the Korean people are entirely ascribable to his leadership, the chairperson added.

The chairperson expressed conviction that the heroic Korean people closely rallied around Kim Jong Il would achieve shining victory in building a thriving socialist nation in the future, too.