Present there were Chief Vice-Chairman of the Central Standing Committee Ho Jong Man and other officials of Chongryon.

Present there on invitation were personages of different circles in Japan and ambassadors and staff members of foreign embassies, representatives of international organizations and correspondents in Japan.

Ho Jong Man, addressing the reception, said that all Chongryon officials and Koreans in Japan are greatly encouraged by the people in the homeland who are achieving signal successes in the building of a thriving nation under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il with the conference of the Workers' Party of Korea just around the corner.

He noted that Kim Jong Il's recent visit to China would be recorded in the history as a landmark event of weighty significance in boosting the traditional DPRK-China friendship.

He urged the Japanese government to come out in real earnest to settle Japan's past crimes and improve the DPRK-Japan relations on the basis of the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration.