Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 14 August 1960

USSR EMBASSY [USSR MFA Far   TOP SECRET

IN THE DPRK East Department stamp:   Copy Nº 3

Nº 139 SECRET Incoming Nº 01968

25 August 1960 12-18 August 1960]

JOURNAL

of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. PUZANOV for the period

10 through 23 August 1960

Pyongyang

[…]

14 August 1960

At 1100 the opening of the Soviet industrial and agricultural exhibition in Pyongyang took place in a festive atmosphere. KWP CC and DPRK government leaders headed by Kim Il Sung, senior officials of national Party and government bodies and public organizations, representatives of the workers, and also ambassadors and embassy officials accredited in Pyongyang were present at the opening of the exhibition. A total of more than 4,000 people were present.

A mass rally was held at the main entrance to the exhibition pavilion, set up in accordance with the design of Soviet architects. After a brief word of introduction by Trade Representative I. A. Gladkov Deputy Chairman of the DPRK Cabinet of Ministers Ri Ju-yeon and the Soviet ambassador gave speeches.

In his speech Ri Ju-yeon noted that the opening of the Soviet exhibition the day before the national holiday of the Korean people is still one more manifestation of the friendship of the great Soviet people for the Korean people and makes a great contribution to the cause of strengthening the friendship between our peoples. Ri Ju-yeon said, the friendship of the Soviet and Korean peoples based on the principles of proletarian internationalism strengthen and develop with each day, and the Korean people guard this friendship like their dearest possession.

Ri Ju-yeon then stressed that the opening of the Soviet exhibition in Pyongyang has great importance at the present time: the exhibition will serve as an excellent school for all the workers of the DPRK, where they will be able to adopt the best practices of the Soviet people in the development of Communism.

In the name of the KWP CC, the government of the republic, and the entire Korean people Ri Ju-yeon expressed deep gratitude to the CPSU CC, the Soviet government, and the entire Soviet people for the organization of the exhibition.

Those present at the rally greeted the words about the upcoming visit to the DPRK of Cde. N. S. Khrushchev with fervent, approving applause. Ri Ju-yeon said, this visit will be a great inspiring event for the Korean people, who are struggling for the construction of socialism and the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

Ri Ju-yeon devoted a considerable part of his speech to the importance of the economic aid and moral support to the DPRK from the Soviet people, and also the questions of the Soviet people's achievements on the path to accomplishing the task of building Communism in the USSR.

In my speech I dwelled on the successes of the Soviet people in the building of Communism, in the struggle for peace in the entire world, for the peaceful coexistence of countries with different socioeconomic systems, and also on the achievements of the Korean people in the development of socialism in the DPRK. I heartily thanked the Korean friends for the aid given by them in the construction of the pavilion and the organization of the exhibition.

After my speech the anthems of the Soviet Union and the DPRK were played, during which the Soviet and DPRK flags were raised accordingly.

After the rally at the instruction of the Soviet government I opened the Soviet industrial and agricultural exhibition.

The Party and government leaders, ambassadors, and afterwards everyone who attended the opening inspected the exhibition's exhibits with great interest and attention for two hours. The precise work of the Soviet and Korean specialists demonstrated in the operation of the tools, machines, and mechanisms was noted during the inspection of the exhibits. Soviet officials were able to teach the Korean personnel practical skills in a comparatively short time.

During the inspection Kim Il Sung and other KWP CC and DPRK government leaders spoke very warmly and enthusiastically both about the individual exhibits and the exhibition on the whole. In particular, Kim Il Sung's attention was drawn to the automatic machinery with programmable control, the high-voltage generator, the model of the Bratsk hydroelectric station, the instruments for determining the location of a fish, a number of agricultural machines, the escalators, and others.

Kim Il Sung gave a brief speech at a breakfast held by the director after the inspection of the exhibition and expressed deep gratitude to the CPSU CC, the Soviet government, and Cde. N. S. Khrushchev personally for the organization of the Soviet exhibition in Pyongyang.

…A festive meeting devoted to the 15^th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from the Japanese invaders by the Soviet Army was held in a newly-built theater. The construction of the theater had just been completed. The theater was built on the design of Korean architects who, Kim Il Sung said in a conversation, got experience in the construction of theaters in Novosibirsk, Moscow, Odessa, and Berlin. The theater is designed for 2,300 people. The roof of the theater was made in the Korean style, the useful area is 29,400 square meters, and the area of the main stage is 772 square meters, which is completely mechanized. The furniture for the theater was manufactured at the Pyongyang Furniture Factory built with Soviet aid. Korean marble of various shades and colors was used in the foyer and other places. The large and small chandeliers also made at Korean enterprises make a good impression. The theater is located not far from a railroad station and the main façade looks out on People's Army Street, which further intersects Stalin Avenue.

All the ambassadors were invited to the presidium.

The meeting was opened by Choe Yong-geon, Chairman of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, who gave a short introductory speech.

Kim Il Sung gave a report.

At the beginning of the report in the name of the entire Korean people Kim Il Sung expressed "deep gratitude to the great Soviet people, who liberated our country from the colonial dominance of Japanese imperialism and constantly give us enormous material and moral aid". He also expressed heartfelt gratitude to the great Chinese people, "who at the cost of [their] blood helped us in the fight and now continue to give us enormous aid"; gratitude was also expressed to the peoples of all the fraternal countries who help the DPRK with constant support.

The report summed up the results of the struggle of the Korean people for democratic reforms and socialist development and described the main preliminary outlines of the seven-year plan for the development of the DPRK economy for 1961-1967.

Kim Il Sung said, "During the seven-year plan, while holding to a policy of providing priority growth to heavy industry while simultaneously developing light industry and agriculture, we should achieve decisive progress in the socialist industrialization of the country and a large increase in the people's standard of living".

The task is being set of rapid development of light industry. agriculture. and a substantial improvement of the people's welfare during the first three years of the seven-year plan. In the next four years main emphasis will be made on a vigorous strengthening of the material and technical basis of socialism by an expansion and improvement of the equipment of heavy industry and a further increase of the people's welfare.

The speaker pointed out that one of the main tasks of the seven-year plan remains the task of the very rapid development of machinebuilding and the chemical industry.

In the field of agriculture the seven-year plan provides for a further increase of the production of grain and industrial crops, and also comprehensive development of animal husbandry. A further mechanization of agricultural work has been provided for the successful accomplishment of these goals. It is proposed to increase the tractor fleet to 20,000 medium-powered tractors in the next two or three years.

In addition, [it is proposed] to produce another 30-40,000 low-powered tractors for agriculture. A broad use of reseeding, the area of which is planned to be brought to 700,000 jeongbo, is proposed to increase the production of grain and industrial crops.

According to the seven-year plan in the next two or three years the production of textiles should rise to 300,000,000 meters per year, the gross grain production to four million tons, and the production of meat to 300,000 tons, and the number of Korean milk cows should be increased to 200,000 head ([it was] 64,000 in 1960).

In the coming years is it proposed to completely abolish taxes in kind from the peasants and income taxes from manual laborers and office workers.

By the end of the seven-year plan it is proposed to produce 17 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in the DPRK (the 1960 plan was for 9.2 billion kilowatt-hours), to produce more than 23 million tons of coal (10.9 million tons in 1960), to produce 2.5 million tons of steel (630,000 tons in 1960), 4.3 million tons of cement (3.4 million tons in 1960), 1.5 tons of chemical fertilizer (606,000 tons in 1960), 500,000,000 meters of textiles (178,000,000 in 1960), and to bring the fish catch up to 1.4 million tons (602,000 tons in 1960).

The accomplishment of technical progress in all sectors of the economy will be an important goal of the seven-year plan.

Dwelling in detail on the situation in South Korea the speaker noted in particular that the reason for the division of Korea and all the sufferings of the South Korean population is the presence of American troops in South Korea. The only way to change the situation in the South and to solve the Korean question is the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea and the peaceful reunification of the country.

The speaker then stressed that the most rational means for the peaceful reunification of the country is to hold Korea-wide free and general elections on a democratic basis without foreign interference. If the South Korean authorities do not agree to this then it will be necessary to undertake at least transitional steps to solve such issues as cannot be put off from the point of view of national interests.

Kim Il Sung said, as such a step we propose the creation of a Confederation of South and North Korea. The confederative system of which we speak will be realized by the creation of a Supreme National Committee of representatives of both government which would primarily coordinate the economic and cultural development of South and North Korean in a uniform procedure while temporarily retaining the existing political systems in South and North Korea and the independent activity of the governments of the DPRK and the Republic of Korea. The introduction of such a confederative system will provide contacts between the South and North, and make mutual understanding and cooperation possible by facilitating the elimination of mutual distrust. We think that the subsequent holding of Korea-wide free elections will lead to the complete realization of a peaceful reunification of the motherland.

In the event that the South Korean authorities do not agree to the creation of a Confederation the DPRK proposes to create at least an Economic Committee of representatives of the business communities of North and South Korea which would take upon themselves the exchange of goods between the South and the North, mutual cooperation, and aid in economic development. It is proposed to organize a cultural exchange and ensure the free movement of the population along with the economic exchange between both parts of the country.

The report points out that the North Korean side proposes to the South Korean authorities, political parties, public organizations, and individuals that representatives of South and North Korea immediately meet in Pyongyang, Seoul, or Panmunjom to discuss these issues.

The report also devotes attention to very important issues of the international situation. It notes in the report, the KWP and the Korean people have unfailingly devoted to strengthen the unity with the peoples of the fraternal countries headed by the USSR in the name of consolidating the unity of the socialist camp, in the name of peace in the entire world, the triumph of socialism and the victory of our common cause.

The speaker stressed that we will henceforth carry the banner of proletarian internationalism high, and further "strengthen the friendship and solidarity with the Soviet people and strengthen solidarity with the peoples of all the socialist countries".

At the request of the KWP CC I gave a brief welcoming speech which was published in full in the 16 August newspapers.

After the festive meeting a concert was held which represented the struggle of the Korean people for their liberation and also the liberation of Korea from the Japanese invaders by the Soviet Army.

[…]

SOVIET AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK [signature] (A. PUZANOV)

Five copies printed. at.

1^st - Cde. A. A. Gromyko

2^nd - Cde. Yu. V. Andropov

3^rd - Cde. I. I. Tugarinov

4^th - USSR MFA UVPI

5^th - to file

Nº 414 24 August 1960