Journal of Soviet Ambassador to the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 9 December 1957

…9 December 1957

I visited Kim Il Sung. I informed his that the request of the DPRK Cabinet of Ministers about establishing VCH communications between Pyongyang and Moscow has been granted.

Kim Il Sung thanked the Government of the Soviet Union for the favorable decision of the issue and charged Nam Il with giving orders to DPRK Minister of Communications Ko Jun-taek, who is in Moscow to meet with USSR Minister of Communications Psurtsev, and come to agreement about the practical measures to establish VCh communications.

I also informed Kim Il Sung that CPSU CC official Shevchenko will be sent to the DPRK in December of this year for about two or three weeks to study some Korean agricultural issues.

Kim Il Sung expressed gratitude and then said that if you go on leave at the end of December, as expected, then it would be advisable for Cde. Shevchenko to come at the end of January so that Cde. Shevchenko's arrival in the DPRK will not be in your absence.

I informed Kim Il Sung that the USSR Ministry of Culture proposes to hold a festival of Asian films in Tashkent. The DPRK, PRC, DRV, Burma, Indonesia, and other countries will be invited to the festival. Will the DPRK leadership support the idea of organizing a film festival and will it take part in it?

Kim Il Sung replied that they support the idea of organizing a film festival of Asian countries in Tashkent and the DPRK will take part in the festival.

In the conversation that then took place Kim Il Sung raised the question of accelerating the shipment of instruments and some other equipment for the Hungnam chemical fertilizer plant being built with Soviet aid. He also said that Jeong Il-yong, having found out about the meeting with me, asked that the question be raised of accelerating the shipment of equipment and fixtures for Plant Nº 82.

I informed Kim Il Sung that Embassy official Rozanov and MFA official Torbenkov had been at the chemical fertilizer plant at the end of November. Actually there is a small delay for several types of equipment and instruments. The Embassy reported to Minister of the Chemical Industry Tikhomirov about this issue. We know that steps are being taken to accelerate the shipment of equipment and instruments. As regards the equipment and fixtures for Plant Nº 82 then there was almost no delay. According to the contract which was concluded delivery was stipulated for the third and fourth quarters of this year. The GKEhS mission and the Embassy are following this matter. I have informed Jeong Il-yong in detail about the progress of the shipment of equipment and fixtures.

Kim Il Sung reported that tomorrow morning he, Pak Jeong-ae, and some ministers will go to the province of South Hwanghae where they will spend 16-17 December.

The majority of Presidium members are also going to provinces. For example, Choe Yong-geon is going to the province of South Hamgyong; Nam Il, to the province of North Hwanghae; Kim Chang-man, to the province of South Pyongan; Rim Hae, to the province of Ryanggang; Ri Hyeon Seung [sic] (Chief of the KWP CC Personnel Department), to the province of North Hamgyong; Kim Ik Seung [sic] (Chairman of the KWP CC Auditing Commission), and ministers and other senior officials are also going. As I said about this earlier, we are going to sum up the results of the agricultural year and work out measures to increase the production of agricultural products in 1958. My trip to the province of South Hwanghae with a group of senior officials was occasioned by the fact that this province has rich prospects for an increase of the production of agricultural products. This year the province obtained a gross grain harvest of 620,000 tons; in 1958 it is expected to get 730,000 tons. One hundred and twenty thousand hectares of rice are being planted in the province. However 40,000 of these hectares do not have a stable harvest. It is necessary to do irrigation work and make these areas independent of weather conditions. According to the calculations of our specialists and officials at the end of the five-year plan the province of South Hwanghae can provide up to one million tons of grain per year. Senior officials of the province do not have sufficient experience in organizing and carrying our large-scale work, and therefore the Presidium is sending us to this province for us to give the local officials practical aid and also to identify the need to give them material assistance.

I thanked Kim Il Sung for the information. Nam Il was present at the conversation.

xxx

A meeting of delegations was held. We discussed the Convention on People with Dual Nationality.

The Convention was adopted in full in the wording prepared by the working groups.

USSR EMBASSY IN THE DPRK         TOP SECRET

Nº 308 Copy Nº 3

[23] December 1957

[handwritten entry: to file. N. Torb[[enkov]]

[faded stamp:

19ag…

069s

7 January 1958]