A reception was given in Beijing Thursday to mark the 55th founding anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at the sponsorship of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and its president Chen Haosu addressed the reception.

He said China and the DPRK were friendly neighbors with a long-standing friendship, and the leaders of the two countries have been in frequent contact to promote friendly relations since the beginning of the new century.

China was ready to make joint efforts to further Sino-Korean friendship and bilateral ties, he noted.

A peaceful and united Korean peninsular was in the fundamental interest of the DPRK people, he said, and was conducive to the peace and stability of Asia and the world at large.

The Chinese government appreciated and supported the efforts of the DPRK to reunify the fatherland in a peaceful and independent way, and hoped that the DPRK and the Republic of Korea (ROK) promoted trust and cooperation to allow for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, Chen said.

Choe Jin Su, DPRK ambassador to China, said that the friendship between the DPRK and China had been forged by the veteran revolutionaries of the older generations.

He expressed the conviction that DPRK-China friendly and cooperatives relations would be further developed with the joint efforts of leaders of both countries.

Uyunqimg, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, attended the reception.
 
(Xinhua News Agency September 5, 2003)