The DPRK-Russia Friendship Hospital will be built on the scenic shore of Myongsasimni in the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area on the East Sea of Korea as many-sided exchanges and cooperation are actively being promoted for providing the peoples of the two countries with substantial welfare by further strengthening and developing the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.

The construction of the hospital, an important matter agreed upon at the historic DPRK-Russia Pyongyang summit, will be another milestone in deepening friendship and fraternity between the peoples of the two countries and a significant occasion in demonstrating the development of the bilateral friendly relations which are being remarkably developed at a new high stage.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the DPRK-Russia Friendship Hospital took place in Wonsan City on April 22 amid the deep interest and expectations of the governments and peoples of the two countries.

Present at the ceremony were Kim Tok Hun, first vice-premier of the Cabinet of the DPRK, Kim Tu Won, minister of Public Health, Yun Jong Ho, minister of External Economic Relations who is chairman of the DPRK side to the DPRK-Russia Inter-governmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology, Ju Mun Jin, chairman of the Kangwon Provincial People's Committee, Kim Jong Gyu, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, officials concerned, builders and working people in Wonsan.

Also present there were Mikhail Murashuko, minister of Health, 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, and members of the Russian government delegation, staff members of the Russian embassy in Pyongyang and Oleg Kosheev, consul general of the Russian Federation in Chongjin.

The national anthems of the Russian Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea were played.

Congratulatory speeches and remarks were made at the ceremony.

Kim Tu Won extended warm congratulations on behalf of the DPRK government to the designers and builders of the hospital and friends of the two countries who devoted positive efforts and sincerity to the successful start of the construction of the hospital.

Today, the DPRK-Russia friendly relations have been developed into an invincible strategic alliance under the special care of the top leaders of the two countries and gigantic and meaningful joint plans for the prosperity of the states and the promotion of the welfare of their peoples have been pushed forward vigorously, adding pleasure and joy to all, he said.

The completion of the hospital will inject vitality into the beautiful life of not only the regional people but also the visitors to the world-class tourist resort, he noted.

He stressed that the DPRK-Russia Friendship Hospital would be built as a monumental edifice of unity and cooperation and an advanced health centre with an excellent treatment environment and medical service system to make the flower garden of friendship more beautiful.

Mikhail Murashuko warmly congratulated the participants in the groundbreaking ceremony on behalf of the government of the Russian Federation, saying that today's event is not merely to lay the foundation for the hospital but to build the foundation for long-term and beneficial cooperation in the field of public health of the two countries.

The construction of the friendship hospital is of special significance as it is an event of implementing the agreement reached by Comrade Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Comrade Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, at their historic meeting, he said, adding that this is a clear example of the invariable development of the bilateral cooperation.

Hoping that success would be achieved in the construction of the hospital and the training of medical workers, he expressed his belief that the hospital would contribute to the promotion of people's health and symbolize the solid friendly relations between Russia and the DPRK.

Referring to the fact that the joint plan for the construction of the hospital was drawn up and is to be put into practice, Alexandr Kozlov said that the patients would receive excellent medical treatment at the modern hospital to be built at the tourist resort of the DPRK which is being visited by many people at home and abroad.

The friendly and good-neighbourly relations between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are based on equality, mutual respect and trust, he said, adding that the current groundbreaking ceremony proves that the Russia-DPRK border is not a wall but a door always open for friends.

He congratulated the participants in the groundbreaking ceremony once again and expressed the will to successfully push ahead with the vast cooperation project between the two countries in the future.

Leading officials of the governments of the two countries dug the first spadeful of earth to signal the start of construction.