From the Journal of N.M. Shubnikov, 'Record of a Conversation with Pak Seong-cheol, Member of the KWP CC Politburo, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, and DPRK Minister of Foreign Affairs'

[CPSU CC stamp: 27140

14 August 1969 Korea]

SECRET

Copy Nº 1

SOVIET EMBASSY IN THE DPRK

11 August 1969

Nº 230

from the journal of

N. M. SHUBNIKOV

RECORD OF A CONVERSATION

with PAK SEONG-CHEOL, member of the KWP CC Politburo, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, and DPRK Minister of Foreign Affairs

23 July 1969

When visiting the DPRK MFA I accidentally ran into Pak Seong-cheol and had a short conversation with him.

After an exchange of mutual greetings Pak Seong-cheol asked when the Soviet Ambassador was going on leave.

I said that the Ambassador intends to fly to Moscow on 30 July.

Pak Seong-cheol noted that he remembered a request of the Soviet Ambassador to meet with Kim Il Sung. He said, Kim Il Sung is not in Pyongyang at the present time and is in the northern regions of the republic. If he were not far from Pyongyang he could have already received the Soviet Ambassador. The difficulty is still that he travels throughout various regions in the day, and communications with him can only be maintained at night, but this is not always convenient. It is not excluded that Kim Il Sung will return to Pyongyang in the next few days, but it is impossible to talk about this with certainty right now. [Translator’s note: a probably surname is written in the left margin].

At the present time, continued the Minister, the majority of Politburo members, including Kim Il and Choe Yong-geon, and also other senior CC officials have left Pyongyang and are in the outlying provinces [na periferii]. They are engaged there with the questions of the further acceleration of industrial production. Possibly they will return to Pyongyang at the end of August or the beginning of September. (One might think that the departures of Korean leaders to the provinces is connected with putting the decisions of the KWP CC plenum, which discussed economic questions into effect. – N. Sh.)

[Translator’s note: there is a stamp at the end of the first page stating that “the material is informative and the CPSU CC Department has been familiarized with [it]. Katerinich.”; there are also some handwritten notations partly off the reproduced page].

In conclusion Pak Seong-cheol promised to help organize a meeting between the Soviet Ambassador and Kim Il Sung in the next few days.

A. T. Irgebayev, 3^rd Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in the DPRK, was present at the conversation.

Minister-Counsellor of the

Soviet Embassy in the DPRK

[signature] (N. Shubnikov)

3-at

1 – to Cde. O. B. Rakhmanin

2 – to Cde. V. I. Likhachev

3 – to file

Nº 470 30 July 1969