Present at the banquet was General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

Among those present there were senior officials of the WPK Central Committee including its Secretaries Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam and Kim Jong Gak, member of the NDC and first vice-director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, and KPA Generals Kim Won Hong and Hyon Chol Hae and other commanding officers of the NDC and the KPA and leading officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Present there on invitation were staff members of the Chinese embassy here and the Chinese Tianjin women's volleyball team on a visit to the DPRK.

When Kim Jong Il appeared in the banquet hall together with the new Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, all the participants warmly welcomed him with highest tribute as he has made an undying contribution to boosting the DPRK-China friendship.

Kim Ki Nam and Ambassador Liu Hongcai made toasts.

They expressed the steadfast will of the parties and peoples of the two countries to further develop and consolidate generation after generation the traditional DPRK-China friendship provided and fostered by the leaders of the elder generation of the two countries.

The banquet proceeded in a cordial atmosphere overflowing with the friendship.