On September 28th, 2006, the day the PRC was founded 57 years ago the DPRK Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the DPRK-China Friendship Association hosted a banquet at the Chongryu Restaurant, Pyongyang marking the occasion. Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the DPRK-China Friendship Association hosted the banquet. Ambassador Liu and his staff as well as personnel from the Chinese-funded organs based in DPRK attended the banquet on invitation. The acting chairman and Ambassador Liu delivered speeches one after another.

Mun began his speech by sending his festival greetings to the Chinese people. He continued that 57 years back the Chinese Communist Party led the Chinese people in an enduring and hard struggle and created the PRC, which was a landmark event changing the destiny of the Chinese people and enable the Chinese people to become the genuine masters of their own country. The new socialist China was founded from the ground up. And now under the leadership of the CPC headed by Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary, the Chinese people had gained tremendous achievement in building a well-to-do society in an all-round manner. The international position of China was on the rise with each passing day. And the DPRK people were happy about it and sincerely wished the Chinese people new success in empowering itself and in their effort to unify the country.

Mun said enhancing and developing the DPRK- China friendship were in the basic interest of the two peoples, beneficial to the peace and stability in Asia and the world at large. It was the constant position of the DPRK party and government to strengthen and develop the bilateral relations of friendly cooperation. And the DPRK side would be willing to work together with the Chinese side in making continued effort to the development of such relations.

Ambassador Liu responded that the Chinese people had succeeded in turning a poor and underdeveloped country into a prosperous country in the short time space of 57 years. They not only had worked wonder in the anal of development, but also written a rare brilliant chapter in the world history. China and the DPRK were friendly neighbors and it was an unswerving policy of the Chinese party and government to continuously consolidate and develop such a relationship of friendly cooperation. And the Chinese side would be willing to work together with the DPRK side to push forward the relations in the spirit of "inheriting the tradition, facing the future, nurturing good- neighbor friendship and enhancing the cooperation."

Kim Yong Il, Vice Foreign Minister, Jeon Young Jin, Vice Chairman of the DPRK Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and concurrently Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the DPRK-China Friendship Association and other leaders from the DPRK party and government departments attended the banquet.