Hungarian Embassy in the DPRK, Report, 11 March 1980. Subject: Korean-Yugoslav relations.

According to the information we received from a Yugoslav source over here, on 28 February 1980 Comrade Kim Yeong-nam, a member of the Korean Workers’ Party Politbureau and a CC secretary, gave a dinner in one of the government’s resthouses in honor of the Yugoslav ambassador and his officials. (It is remarkable that hitherto Comrade Kim Yeong-nam had sent such an invitation only to the Soviet embassy, and presumably to the Chinese and Romanian embassies.)

The program, which started in early afternoon, ended late in the evening. According to our informant, at the meeting Comrade Kim Yeong-nam spoke about the following subjects:

The situation in Afghanistan:

Without referring to the Soviet Union by name, he made a general remark that any armed intervention in the internal affairs of another country was a dangerous act, particularly if this was directed against a non-aligned country. One must condemn such an intervention, and, with the assistance of international public opinion, one must achieve the withdrawal of foreign troops. One must strengthen the unity of the non-aligned countries, because the forces of dominationism take advantage of any disunity.

National unification:

He described the [inter-Korean] dialogue as a long-term process. As long as the American troops are stationed in South Korea, unification cannot be accomplished. For this reason, the DPRK must support the process of democratization in the South, and it must gradually make efforts to achieve the withdrawal of American troops.

Inter-party relations:

There is a consensus on that the DPRK will send delegations of party workers to Yugoslavia in August. The first delegation is expected to be composed of experts who will study the utilization of hydropower and the operation of hydropower stations. The second delegation of party workers is expected to study [the situation of] non-ferrous metallurgy in Yugoslavia.

In the sphere of military relations, the DPRK is particularly interested in the various optical facilities, anti-tank missiles, and laser technology. Kim Yeong-nam asked [the Yugoslav side] for assistance and an exchange of delegations in these fields.

Sándor Etre

ambassador