PYONGYANG, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) stands on the "threshold to a great, prosperous and powerful nation," the country's top legislator said Wednesday.

Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK's Supreme People's Assembly, made the remarks at a state banquet marking the 61th anniversary of the DPRK's founding.

After test-firing a satellite and a second nuclear bomb this year, the DPRK has become a "political and military power with advanced science and technology," he said.

The DPRK will step up efforts in realizing national reunification, strengthening friendship and solidarity with all countries advocating independence, and building a free and peaceful new world, he added.