Present there on invitation were Ri Su Yong, foreign minister, Kim Jong Suk, chairwoman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Pak Kun Gwang, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Sim Kuk Ryong, general director of the General Bureau for Affairs with Diplomatic Corps, and other officials concerned.

The Cuban ambassador said in a speech that the Cuban and Korean peoples have dynamically waged the joint struggle for defending the sovereignty in the confrontation with the U.S. imperialists in the past period.

He expressed conviction that the Korean people would demonstrate only victory and glory in the future, too, under the wise leadership of Marshal Kim Jong Un.

He said that the Cuban people would further develop the friendly and cooperative relations provided by the preceding leaders of the two countries and strengthen mutual cooperation with the DPRK in the international arena.

Ri Su Yong said that the Cuban people have achieved fresh successes in the struggle for defending socialist gains while frustrating all the moves of the U.S. imperialists and their stooges under the correct leadership of Comrade Raul Castro Ruz.

He noted that President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il rendered material and moral assistance to the Cuban people in their struggle in the period when the U.S. imperialists frantically moved to nip the Cuban revolution in the bud.

He stressed that over the past 55 years the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have been steadily consolidated in various fields including politics, economy, military affairs and culture.