Present on invitation were Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, and staff members of his embassy.

Pak Ui Chun, minister of Foreign Affairs, said in his speech at the reception that last year, "the year of DPRK-China Friendship," the DPRK and China held colorful events and exchanged delegations of various levels, powerfully demonstrating the solid and viable DPRK-China relations of friendship and cooperation.

He recalled that the Chinese people demonstrated once again the might of the unity of the Chinese nation through the celebrations of the 60th founding anniversary of the Republic.

We will join Chinese comrades in working hard to boost the bilateral friendly and cooperative relations in the future, too, as intended by the top leaders of the two countries, he stressed.

Liu Xiaoming in his reply said that last year was of importance in the Sino-DPRK relations, referring to the fact that the two countries jointly marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and the year of friendship.

He noted that the two countries have maintained excellent cooperation in the international arena and made a positive contribution to the steady development of the Sino-DPRK relations and regional peace and stability.

Saying that 2010 is a significant year for the two countries, he wished the Korean people greater successes in socialist construction under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea headed by General Secretary Kim Jong Il.