Pyongyang, April 26 (KCNA) -- Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin,
president of the Russian Federation, hosted a grand banquet Thursday in welcome
of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un.
Present there on invitation were Kim Phyong Hae and O Su Yong, vicechairmen of the Central Committee of the
Workers' Party of Korea, Ri Yong Ho, foreign minister, Army General Ri Yong
Gil, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, Choe Son Hui,
first vice foreign minister, and other officials accompanying Kim Jong Un and
suite members.
Also present there on invitation were Kim Hyong Jun, DPRK
ambassador to the Russian Federation, and Jo Sok Chol, DPRK consul general in
Vladivostok, and members of the consulate general.
Present there from the Russian side were Sergei Lavrov, foreign
minister, Yuri Trutnev, deputy prime minister and presidential envoy to the Far
East Federal Region, Dmitri Peskov, deputy head of the Presidential
Administration and president's press secretary, Yuri Ushakov, assistant to the
president's foreign policy, Yevgeni Ditrih, minister of Railways, Alexandr
Kozlov, minister of Development of the Far East and Arctic, Anatoli Yanovski,
vice-minister of Energy, Oleg Belozerov, president of the Russian Railways
Company, and Alexandr Matsegora, Russian ambassador to the DPRK, and officials
concerned.
President Putin made a congratulatory speech.
Warmly welcoming Kim Jong Un and all other Korean friends
visiting the
Russian Federation once again, he remembered with deep emotion
the history of friendship between the two countries and meaningful meetings
between the preceding leaders.
Putin said that the situation around the Korean peninsula is
becoming stable at the initiative of Kim Jong Un, and Russia supports
the efforts of the DPRK leadership for the DPRK-U.S. dialogue and the
improvement of the north-south relations.
Voicing Russia's willingness to continue mutual cooperation to
defuse tension on the Korean peninsula and strengthen security in Northeast
Asia as a whole, Putin expressed his conviction that the goal of ensuring
lasting peace and stability and achieving prosperity on the peninsula and in
the region will certainly be attained by the active involvement of the
international community and all the countries concerned.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un made a reply speech.
He expressed heartfelt gratitude to Putin for kindly inviting
him and according cordial hospitality in all sincerity. Noting that the peoples
of the two countries were firmly linked together with the feelings of
comrades-in-arms in the joint struggle for the great anti-Japanese war in the
last century, and the officers and men of the Red Army devoted their warm blood
to the liberation of Korea, he said the Korean people do not forget
the noble internationalist exploits of the sons and daughters of
the Russian
people who unsparingly laid down their precious lives for the
sacred cause of the liberation of Korea and will always remember them in the
future, too.
Noting that he had a frank and meaningful conversation with
Putin on the
issues of developing the DPRK-Russia friendly relations and
ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula and in the region and
international issues of mutual concern, he said it is the fixed stand and
strategic policy of the government of the DPRK to steadily develop the
DPRK-Russia friendship on a new high as required by the new century.
The Supreme Leader sincerely wished that Russia would certainly
prosper as a powerful and dignified great country under the leadership of
President Putin.
The banquet proceeded in an amicable atmosphere overflowing with
the
feelings of friendship. There was an art performance prepared by
Russian artistes in sincerity in welcome of the historic visit to Russia by Kim
Jong Un.
Kim Jong Un and Putin presented a
floral basket to the performers and
expressed thanks. Expressing deep gratitude to the Russian
friends for their enthusiastic and warm hospitality once again, Kim Jong Un exchanged
cordial farewell with Putin, promising a new meeting.
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