It has already been 36 years since President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il had an emotional meeting with Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz, the historic leader of the Cuban revolution, who visited our country.

Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz paid a visit to our country from March 8 to 11 1986, leading the Party and government delegation of the Republic of Cuba.

President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il personally went to the airport and warmly welcomed Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz and his entourage, the goodwill envoys of the Cuban people, who came to Pyongyang over the continents and the oceans, and bestowed heartwarming hospitality on them during their visit.

President Kim Il Sung held exclusive and plenary talks with Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz and his entourage, and hosted a welcome banquet and luncheon for them who were standing with our people in the common trench of joint struggle for independence against imperialism. He also made arrangements for them to see the music and dance epic “Song of Glory” and to have a tour of several places. And he awarded the title of Hero of the DPRK to Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz who contributed to the anti-US and anti-imperialist struggle and to the development of friendly relationship between the two countries.

Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz confirmed his determination to always keep in mind the title of the DPRK Hero awarded to him by President Kim Il Sung not as a simple honorary title but as the symbol of firm will to contribute to strengthening and developing the friendship and solidarity between the DPRK and Cuba.

Chairman Kim Jong Il always paid close attention to consolidating and developing the relations of friendship between the DPRK and Cuba which are revolutionary, comradely and fraternal ones, and clarified the principled stand of our Party and government to attach importance to the relations with Cuba by issuing several works including Helping the Cuban People Is an International Obligation of Socialist Countries and We Should Render an Active Assistance to the Cuban People in Their Struggle. He also met with several high-ranking delegations of Cuba who visited our country, and gave valuable instructions concerning the development of the bilateral relations.

President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il established the friendly relations between the DPRK and Cuba together with Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz, which are based on revolutionary principles, a sense of comradely obligation and socialist principle. These relations are now developing onto a new higher stage under the close attention of Comrade Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the DPRK.

Comrade Kim Jong Un sent his sincerely arranged gift to Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz in August 2016 when he celebrated his 90th birthday. When Comrade Fidel Castro Ruz passed away, he personally sent a message of condolence and wreath, and paid a mourner’s visit to the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in the DPRK and made a significant entry in a book of condolence. He also took benevolent measures to urgently dispatch a high-ranking delegation of the Party and the state to Cuba to convey the warm consolation sent to the Cuban people by the Korean people.

Our people rejoice as their own at the wonderful successes achieved by the Cuban people in the vigorous struggle to oppose imperialism and to build socialism in the Western Hemisphere.

We always send full support and solidarity to the fraternal Cuban people who are safeguarding the revolutionary gains and socialism and steadily moving forward towards victory while smashing at every step the anti-socialist manoeuvres of the hostile forces which are getting more undisguised. We will make continuous efforts to strengthen and develop the strategic and comradely relations of friendship and cooperation between our two countries.