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), hosted a banquet at the Mokran House on the evening of June 8 to welcome Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and President of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Invited to the banquet were entourage members of the Chinese side including Cai Qi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, member of the Secretariat and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau and Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liu Haixing, head of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee, Tang Fangyu, Director of the Policy Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, Dong Jun, Minister of National Defence of the PRC, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Committee of the PRC, and Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of the PRC, and staff members of the Chinese embassy in the DPRK.

Present there were Kim Jae Ryong and Ri Il Hwan, members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretaries of the C.C., WPK, Kim Song Nam, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the C.C., WPK, Choe Son Hui, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK, No Kwang Chol, Minister of National Defence of the DPRK, and other senior Party, government and military officials.

Comrade Kim Jong Un together with his wife Ri Sol Ju delightedly greeted Comrade Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the Mokran House and had a photo session with the national flags of the two countries in the background.

When Comrade Kim Jong Un appeared at the banquet hall together with Comrade Xi Jinping, all the participants welcomed the top leaders of the two parties and two countries with enthusiastic applause.

Comrade Kim Jong Un made a speech to welcome Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the C.C., CPC and President of the PRC.

Comrade Kim Jong Un said that he warmly welcomes Comrade General Secretary Xi Jinping, who paid a state visit to the DPRK with the warm feelings of fraternity and friendship with the DPRK people once again, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK and on his own behalf, adding that the enthusiastic welcoming atmosphere witnessed on the streets of Pyongyang and along the route clearly shows the comradely friendship and fraternal feelings of the WPK and DPRK people toward Comrade Xi Jinping and the Chinese party and people as well as the power of the invincible DPRK-China friendly relations.

Comrade Kim Jong Un noted that the will to shape a beautiful future for the two peoples by joint efforts on the road of struggle for socialism was reaffirmed through the Pyongyang meeting and talks.

Saying that the two parties and two countries could consolidate the bonds of unity and cooperation, sharing their destiny for a long time as they are not merely neighbours naturally and topographically but are united on the basis of the commonness of ideology and militant friendship, he expressed the will to develop the DPRK-China friendship based on wonderful history and tradition to new heights thus creating a model of the most powerful and strategic relations between socialist countries.

Sincerely hoping that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the Chinese people will make greater changes in the sacred cause for comprehensively building a modern and powerful socialist country, attaining the second centenary goal and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he expressed belief that the DPRK-China friendship, growing stronger day by day with the common will and efforts on the basis of long-standing fraternal friendship and trust, would greet a brighter future.

Comrade Xi Jinping made a reply speech.

He expressed his heartfelt thanks to Comrade Kim Jong Un and the Korean party and government and people for sincere efforts for facilitating the visit of the Chinese delegation as well as for the splendid and warm hospitality, saying that he was pleased to visit the DPRK again in the beautiful season full of vigour and vitality and share friendship with Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong Un to the full and discuss the future together with him.

He said that China and the DPRK have always shared their destinies and the traditional China-DPRK friendship is an invincible one with a long history, referring to the great friendship between the peoples of the two countries who shared life and death, sweets and bitters in the annals of the revolution.

Saying that the China-DPRK relations are at a new historic starting point this year marking the 65 th anniversary of the conclusion of the China-DPRK Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance and that he reached an important common understanding with Comrade Kim Jong Un during his current visit, he expressed the will to develop the China-DPRK relations on a high level, open up a more beautiful prospect for the socialist cause of the two countries and promote the steady progress of human society in cooperation with each other.

He said that the Ninth Congress of the WPK convened this year drew up a strategic plan for long-term development of the Party and state affairs and gave a crucial assignment, thus opening up a new era of overall development of socialism in the DPRK. He sincerely hoped that under the firm leadership of the WPK headed by Comrade General Secretary Kim Jong Un , the DPRK people will steadily open up a new phase of socialism of the DPRK by smoothly achieving the goals and tasks set forth at the Party Congress.

The participants in the banquet toasted to the steady consolidation and development of the DPRK-China friendship.

The banquet proceeded in a warm atmosphere full of friendship and fraternity.