Present at the reception on invitation were Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly; Ro Tu Chol, vice-premier of the Cabinet; Pak Chun Nam, minister of Culture; and officials concerned and foreign diplomatic envoys and representatives of international organizations here and military attaches of foreign embassies here.

Present there were staff members of the Russian embassy and Russian guests staying in the DPRK.

The ambassador in a speech said that in the past Patriotic War the Soviet army and people beat back the invasion by fascist Germany and won a great victory by giving play to popular heroism and ardent popular patriotism.

He noted that Comrade Kim Il Sung, the leader of the guerrillas of Korea, called for defending the Soviet Union with arms and the guerrillas waged a positive struggle to carry out his order.

The Russian people value the friendship with the Korean people, he said, went on: Immutable is the line of the Russian leadership to develop multi-faceted cooperation with the DPRK with good tradition.

The Russia-DPRK cooperation is entirely in line with the interests of the peoples of the two countries, he said, expressing belief that it would contribute to keeping peace and stability in the region and settling the issue of the Korean peninsula through dialogue.

Yang Hyong Sop in a speech said that the brave sons and daughters of the Soviet Union turned out in the sacred drive for defense of the country and great war of justice seven decades ago, protecting the dignity of the country and global peace and security.

He noted that President Kim Il Sung put up a slogan calling for defending the Soviet Union with arms and fought a bloody anti-Japanese war to foil the attempt of the Japanese militarists to invade the Soviet Union in the East, thus giving historic origin to the DPRK-Russia friendship.

The DPRK-Russia friendly relations are developing at a fresh higher level under the special care of the top leaders of the two countries, he said, adding that this year was proclaimed as a year of the DPRK-Russia friendship.

We will closely cooperate with the Russian friends to consolidate the DPRK-Russia friendly relations and ensure the regional peace and security with joint efforts, he added.