Present there were Jang Song Thaek, vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK who doubles as chairman of the DPRK side to the DPRK-China Joint Guidance Committee for the Joint Development and Management of the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone, Ri Su Yong, chairman of the Joint Venture Investment Committee, Ri Man Gon, chief secretary of the North Phyongan Provincial Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Rim Kyong Man, chief secretary of the Rason City Committee of the WPK, Choe Jong Gon, chairman of the North Phyongan Provincial People's Committee, Jo Jong Ho, chairman of the Rason City People's Committee, officials of Pyongyang, North Phyongan Province and Rason City and working people.

Also present there were Chen Deming, minister of Commerce of China who doubles as chairman of the Chinese side to the Sino- DPRK Joint Guidance Committee for the Joint Development and Management of the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone, Wang Min, secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Sun Zhengcai, secretary of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the CPC, Liu Hongcai, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, Chen Zhenggao, governor of the Liaoning Provincial People's Government, and other officials of the Chinese government and Liaoning and Jilin provinces and working people.

Jang Song Thaek, Chen Deming, Ri Man Gon and Chen Zhenggao made congratulatory speeches at the ceremony held in the Hwanggumphyong district.

The speakers said that they were pleased to hold the joint ceremony in the Hwanggumphyong district in the historical period when leader Kim Jong Il made a successful visit to China again, recording a new chapter in the history of the traditional DPRK-China friendship.

They stressed that the above-said economic zone to be jointly developed and operated by the two countries would mark a new symbol of the DPRK-China friendship and thus make a good contribution to bringing greater prosperity and happiness to the two peoples.

The DPRK and China are friendly neighbors sharing mountains and rivers, they said, expressing belief that the projects of joint development and operation provided by their joint efforts would be successfully carried out in a short span of time to make substantial contribution to the economic development of the two countries and Northeast Asia.

At the end of the speeches, the participants erected a monument commemorating the ground-breaking ceremony.

Jang Song Thaek and Chen Deming made congratulatory speeches to be followed by speeches by Rim Kyong Man and Sun Zhengcai at the ceremony held in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone.

The speakers said that the zone has favorable conditions for emerging a world trade and investment hub connecting Northeast Asia with Europe and North America as it is linked with the DPRK, China and Russia bordering on the River Tuman and has East Sea of Korea.

It is the will of the parties and governments and desire of the peoples of the two countries to jointly develop and operate the zone, they noted.

They said that smooth progress in the joint development and operation of the zone would promote from a new angle the economic development in not only the two countries but also Northeast Asia and give affirmative effect on the global economic development.

They called for bringing about a turn in freight transit transportation and tourism by speedily solving the issue of electricity and winding up the projects for modernization of Rajin Port and reconstruction of Rajin Port-Wonjong road through positive cooperation within this year.

The ceremony was followed by announcing the start of the reconstruction of the Rajin Port-Wonjong road, ground-breaking ceremonies of Athae Rason Cement Factory and the Rason, DPRK-Jilin Province, China High Efficiency Agricultural Model District and departing ceremonies of Chinese domestic freight transit transportation via Rajin Port and private car tourism as the first phase projects for the start of the joint development of the zone.

Officials of the two countries cut tapes commemorating ground-breaking ceremonies of the reconstruction of the Rajin Port-Wonjong road and the project for the object to be jointly developed and operated in the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and the departing ceremony of Chinese domestic freight transit transportation via Rajin Port.

A monument was erected in commemoration of the ground-breaking of the Athae Rason Cement Factory.

Receptions were given on Wednesday and Thursday in celebration of the ceremonies.