On April 17, the Chinese art troupe participating in the "Spring of April" Friendship Art Festival staged a performance in the Ponghwa Art Theater. Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Choe Tae Bok, Secretary of the WPK Central Committee, Ri Yong Mu, Vice-Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Kim Yong-il, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to DPRK, watched the performance. Also present were senior officials from the DPRK Party, government and military forces. The Ponghwa Art Theater with 1,800 seats was filled to its capacity.

Before the performance, President Kim Yong Nam and Ambassador Liu Xiaoming had a brief meeting.

(Ambassador Liu with President Kim Yong Nam)

President Kim Yong Nam said that he was glad to watch the performance of the Chinese Art Troupe and would like to extend the warm greetings to all members of the art troupe. He pointed out that April 15 of this year happens to be the 95th birthday of Chairman Kim Il-sung, and the participation of the Chinese Art Troupe to DPRK in the "Spring of April" Friendship Art Festival shows Chinese people's friendship to the DPRK people. The performance of the Chinese Art Troupe would not only bring joys to the DPRK people, but also would help strengthen the friendship between the two peoples. He wished the performance of Chinese Art Troupe a great success.

President Kim Yong Nam said that it is the consistent stand of the Party, government and people of the DPRK to continuously strengthen and develop the DPRK-China friendly cooperation. The DPRK-China friendship was founded by the leadership of elder generations of the two countries and was the precious treasure they had left over to the younger generations, so the DPRK side would like to continue to develop the friendship together with the Chinese side.

Ambassador Liu Xiaoming thanked President Kim Yong Nam and the leaders of the Party, government and military forces of the DPRK for their presence at the performance. Ambassador Liu said that China-DPRK friendship has been founded and fostered by the leaders of elder generations of the two countries. This year marks the 95th birthday of Chairman Kim Il-sung, the great leader of the DPRK people and the close friend of the Chinese people. We cherish the memory of his outstanding contributions to developing China-DPRK friendship. To consolidate and develop China-DPRK friendship is the consistent policy of the Chinese Party and Government. He believed that with the guidance of the leaders of the two countries and the joint efforts of the two sides, China-DPRK relations will continue to develop in the years to come.

Ambassador Liu said that the Chinese government has attached great importance to the "Spring of April" Friendship Art Festival. This year China sent more than 80 performers from Hebei Song and Dance Troupe and Shandong Acrobatic Troupe to participate in the art festival. Their performance was highly appraised by the DPRK people. The Chinese artists have not only brought the wonderful performances but also the friendly sentiments of the Chinese people to the DPRK people. They have enhanced the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples through the performance.

(President Kim Yong Nam and Ambassador Liu Xiaoming with the Chinese Performers)

After watching the performance, President Kim Yong Nam said that the performance was excellent and unique. It was not only of very high artistic value, but also had the strong national features. It shows the high level of Chinese artistic performance, and has contributed to the success of the "The Spring of April" Friendship Art Festival.

(Thunderous applause in the hall)