Present there were Chief Vice-Chairman Ho Jong Man and vice-chairmen of the Central Standing Committee of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, officials of Chongryon and compatriots.

Nam Sung U, vice-chairman of the Central Standing Committee of Chongryon, said in a report that the realization of the repatriation of Koreans from Japan which the world people termed "a great exodus of Koreans from capitalism to socialism" was a precious fruition of the noblest compatriotic love of President Kim Il Sung and a shining embodiment of the idea of the Juche-oriented overseas compatriots' movement.

He recalled that General Secretary Kim Jong Il, who fully inherited the noble compatriotic love and kind-hearted personality of the President, has shown particular care for the living of the returnees to the homeland from Japan.

He called upon the officials of Chongryon and compatriots to bear deep in mind the benevolence of the President generation after generation and wage a vigorous struggle to bring about a new heyday of the movement of Koreans in Japan as desired by Kim Jong Il.

A congratulatory message to Kim Jong Il was adopted at the meeting.

Meanwhile, a lecture and a photo exhibition for marking the 50th anniversary of the repatriation of Koreans from Japan took place under the sponsorship of the Central Standing Committee of Chongryon.