Present there on invitation were the vice-chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Hu Zhengyue, assistant to the foreign minister, others and officials concerned of China.

Ambassador Choe Jin Su and staff members of the DPRK embassy in China were on hand.

Choe Jin Su noted in his speech that President Kim Il Sung together with Premier Zhou Enlai signed the DPRK-China Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, saying it was an important event that recorded a brilliant chapter in the history of DPRK-China friendship.

It is the consistent policy of the Korean party and government to steadily consolidate and develop DPRK-China friendship, he said, expressing the conviction that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would develop onto a new higher stage in the "year of DPRK-China friendship" marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

The vice-chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference said that both sides have made positive contribution to promoting the development of each side and defending the regional peace and stability by briskly conducting their exchange and cooperation in various fields, including politics, economy and culture, in the spirit of the treaty.

It is the steadfast policy of the Chinese party and government to continuously consolidate and develop the traditional China-DPRK relations of friendship and cooperation, he said, declaring that the Chinese side, together with the DPRK side, will further develop the relations between the two countries by strengthening exchange and cooperation in various fields with the "year of China-DPRK friendship" as an occasion.