Present there were Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and first vice-president of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, Kim Song Nam, director of the International Department of the Central Committee of the WPK, Mun Song Hyok, vice department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, Army Lieutenant General Kim Chol Gun, vice-minister of National Defence, Pak Myong Ho, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials concerned.

Present there on invitation were Li Jinjun, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, and his embassy members.

Before the reception Choe Ryong Hae had a talk with the ambassador.

Choe Ryong Hae courteously conveyed warm greeting from Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the WPK, president of the State Affairs of the DPRK and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, to Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC.

He also courteously conveyed congratulations of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un to Ambassador Li Jinjun and his embassy members.

Li Jinjun expressed deep gratitude for warm greeting from General Secretary Kim Jong Un to General Secretary Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.

He also asked Choe Ryong Hae to convey sincere greeting from the members of his embassy to Kim Jong Un.

Choe Ryong Hae said that after the conclusion of the treaty the peoples of the two countries have sincerely supported and helped each other, sharing their fate together as genuine revolutionary comrades-in-arms, close brothers and sisters and reliable allies on the road for independence against imperialism and for socialism.

The significance of the treaty has not been played down even a bit despite the passage of 60 years and its strategic importance is getting further pronounced under the present international situation, he said.

He stressed that the bilateral friendship with socialism, common ideal of the peoples of the two countries, at its core has been expanded and developed in an all-round way to meet the needs of the new times under the direct care of the top leaders of the two parties and the two countries.

Saying that the special close relations between General Secretary Kim Jong Un and General Secretary Xi Jinping are a groundwork propping up the friendly relations between the two parties and the two countries and a motive force powerfully propelling their further development, he expressed the will to make joint efforts with the Chinese comrades to strengthen and develop the DPRK-China relations in all fields including politics, economy and military.

We fully support the stand of the Chinese party and government and will always stand with the Chinese friends on the road of advancing the socialist cause in the future, too, he stressed.

Li Jinjun said that Premier Zhou Enlai and President

Kim Il Sung signed the China-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Beijing 60 years ago, adding that the treaty has been endowed with meaning in the times through the five meetings between the top leaders of the two parties in the new era.

He referred to the fact that the two parties and the two countries have advanced the socialist cause and propelled the friendly relations on to a new high stage while supporting and cooperating with each other over the past six decades since the conclusion of the treaty.

He said that the common stand recently taken by the two countries on the international arena shows once again the real significance of the treaty, extending thanks to the DPRK for its firm support.

There were toasts at the reception.

Kim Song Nam said that President Kim Il Sung and Premier Zhou Enlai signed the treaty, leaving posterity a noble legacy. He continued that today the friendly relations between the DPRK and China have entered the new golden age of their development under the direct care of General Secretary of the WPK Kim Jong Un and General Secretary of the C.C., CPC Xi Jinping.

He added that the Korean people are sincerely rejoiced over the grand celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and over the world-startling achievements made by the Chinese people in their new course of building a modern socialist state under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, expressing belief that the cause of the CPC and the Chinese people to realize the great prosperity of the Chinese nation would surely come true.

Li Jinjun said that the conclusion of the treaty was a strategic decision made by the leaders of the elder generation of the two countries, looking far into the future, and it marked a historic event for the two countries, adding that based on the treaty the two parties and the two countries have supported and cooperated with each other, powerfully propelled socialism and contributed to regional peace and security.

Since 2018 Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un have had close communications and propelled China-DPRK friendship, a common treasure, personally provided and cultivated with much care by the leaders of the elder generations to a new strategic stage, he said.

The congratulatory message sent by Kim Jong Un to Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 100th founding anniversary of the CPC demonstrated once again the invincibility of friendship between the two parties and close personal relations between them, he noted, adding that they are pleased over the new successes made by the Korean people in socialist construction by putting all efforts into implementing the spirit of the 8th Congress of the WPK under the energetic leadership of the WPK led by General Secretary Kim Jong Un.

He said that invariable is the stand of the Chinese Party and government toward the Party and government of the DPRK no matter how the regional situation may change, and expressed the willingness to steadily develop the China-DPRK relations and contribute to the welfare of the peoples of the two countries and regional peace and security by maintaining the original purpose in the spirit of the treaty and true to the common understanding made by the top leaders of two parties and the two countries.

The participants at the reception toasted to the eternal strengthening and development of the DPRK-China friendship.

An amicable atmosphere prevailed throughout the reception.