Comrade Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, hosted a reception on September 13 in honour of the visit to Russia by respected Comrade Kim Jong Un , General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Before the reception Comrade Putin presented the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un with a gift as a token of the meeting.

Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed thanks for it and offered his gift to Comrade Putin.

Invited to the reception were Comrade Choe Son Hui, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, Comrades Ri Pyong Chol and Pak Jong Chon, Marshals of the Korean People’s Army, Comrade Kang Sun Nam, Minister of National Defence of the DPRK, Comrades O Su Yong and Pak Thae Song, Secretaries of the WPK Central Committee, and other accompanying officials.

Attending the reception on the Russian side were Comrade Sergei Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Comrade Denis Mantrov, Deputy Prime Minister and concurrently Minister of Industry and Trade, Comrade Sergei Shoigu, Minister of Defence, Comrade Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Prime Minister, Comrade Yuri Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far East Federal Region, Comrade Marat Khusnullin, Deputy Prime Minister, Comrade Dmitri Peskov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Press Secretary of the President, Comrade Alexandr Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology and Chairman of the Russian side to the DPRK-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology, Comrade Vitaly Saveliev, Minister of Transport and other leading officials and officials concerned, and Comrade Alexandr Matsegora, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the DPRK.

When respected Comrade Kim Jong Un appeared at the reception hall, guided by President Putin, all the participants warmly greeted with a loud applause the top leaders of the two countries who are further strengthening the firm and true DPRK-Russia bonds of friendship.

President Putin made a congratulatory speech at the reception.

Saying that he warmly welcomes once again Comrade Kim Jong Un , President of the State Affairs of the DPRK who is an honoured guest of Russia, and other friends from the DPRK, President Putin referred to the history of development of the friendly and comradely goodwill relations between the Russian Federation and the DPRK.

The Russia-DPRK relations are invariably oriented to comradely and good neighbourly relations as ever, he said, affirming the steadfast will of the Russian government to make consistent efforts for the development of the relations between the two countries and the well-being and prosperity of their peoples.

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a reply speech.

Saying that he was very pleased to meet President Putin and share a significant seat full of comradely friendship by visiting the Russian Federation again in four years and five months, he expressed his thanks to President Putin and officials concerned from the capital and of the Far Eastern Region for making great efforts to ensure his successful visit.

He also conveyed the militant respect and warm fraternal greetings of the DPRK people to all the Russian people who have turned out in the historic cause of building a powerful Russia and firmly defending the strategic interests of the country.

He expressed his will to work out a far-reaching plan for the DPRK-Russia relations in the new stable and future-oriented era, together with President Putin, and to dynamically promote the powerful nation-building cause in the two countries and realize genuine international justice under the plan.

The reception proceeded in a familiar and amicable atmosphere overflowing with friendly feelings.

At the end of the reception, respected Comrade Kim Jong Un cordially invited Putin to visit the DPRK at a convenient time.

President Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship.

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said goodbye to Comrade Putin, wishing him good health and further good successes in his important and responsible work for building a powerful Russia.

He left for his next destination, being given a warm send-off by the leading officials of Russia and the guards of honour of the three services of the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

The historic meeting and talks between respected Comrade Kim Jong Un and Comrade President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin serve as an epoch-making event that put the traditional and strategic DPRK-Russia friendship, cooperation and good neighbourly relations on a new higher level and powerfully encouraged the just struggle for accomplishing the cause of independence against imperialism.