Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. Puzanov for 12 May 1958

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Copy Nº 3

USSR EMBASSY IN THE DPRK

Nº 102

14 May 1958

[faded MFA stamp:

0132

22 May 1958]

[handwriting: "copy to

Torbenkov"; illegible

signature and abbreviation]

JOURNAL

of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. PUZANOV during the

period 29 April through 12 May 1958

[handwriting: "Please show to Cdes.

Nikitin

Samsonov

Andreyev

Kovalev

Ognev

N. Torbenkov

29 May 1958"]

Pyongyang

[…]

12 May 1958

I visited Pak Geum-cheol [Pak Kum Chol] and familiarized and presented him with a copy of a 9 May CPSU Central Committee letter to the SKYu [League of Communists of Yugoslavia] Central Committee.

Pak Geum-cheol thanked the CPSU CC for the text of the letter which had been delivered and said that it would be sent to Kim Il Sung on 14 May after his return from a trip throughout the northern provinces of the country and he will familiarize the KWP CC leadership with the letter.

In a conversation which was held Pak Geum-cheol said that members of the Worker's Party are indignant at the SKYu leadership's distortion of the main provisions of Marxism-Leninism. Pak Geum-cheol said that the article of Cdes. Fedoseyev, Cheprakov, and Pomelov about the draft SKYu program printed in [issue] Nº 6 of the journal Kommunist and translated into Korean is being distributed to provincial Party committees and will be printed along with another article from this journal in the May Party journal. Chairmen of provincial Party committees were familiarized with this article at the 7 May meeting in the KWP CC. Pak Geum-cheol said, in the next few days, besides the printed materials, a number of articles will be produced in the newspaper Rodong Sinmun with criticism of the incorrect provisions of the SKYu program and about the 7^th SKYu congress.

Ri Dong-yong was present at the conversation.

xxx

I visited Nam Il and informed him that Glavatom [the Main Directorate for the Use of Atomic Energy] considers it necessary to add new displays to the exhibit about the peaceful use of atomic energy and in this connection asks, how will the DPRK leadership react this if this exhibit is moved from May to September-October of this year?

Nam Il said that they will consult in the government and report their answer but in all likelihood there will be no objections.

I asked whether Nam Il knew about the agenda of the UN Economic and Social Council set for 1 July of this year and how the preparation of materials about this issue are going, reminding him that Moscow is expecting a reply on 15 May.

Nam Il said that the materials are being prepared and he will take steps to speed [them] up but evidently the reply will be given on Kim Il Sung's return from the trip, that is, on the morning of 15 May.

I also informed Nam Il about the subject of the text of the CPSU CC letter to the SKYu CC which I passed to Pak Geum-cheol today.

Nam Il said that the letter is very thorough and it sharply and correctly criticizes the SKYu leadership for a distortion of and a departure from Marxist-Leninist theory, and for slandering the Soviet Union, the CPSU, and other socialist countries. Nam Il said, it is not clear, what do the Yugoslavs want? Are they carrying out the Americans' assignments? Why did no one speak out against the slander of the USSR, CPSU, and the other socialist countries at the SKYu congress?

I said that it would hardly be surprising since it is natural that SKYu leadership had carefully selected the makeup of the congress delegates, with which Nam Il agreed.

Nam Il said, Kim Il Sung has said more than once that relations with the USSR could not be broken as Tito did in 1948. This means that he is not a Communist.

Nam Il then said the DPRK ambassador in Berlin, referring to information from the Soviet ambassador, reported that the issue of Yugoslavia was also discussed at the last CPSU CC Plenum.

I told Nam Il that I was not at the Plenum and I know nothing about this.

We also exchanged opinions about the coverage in the Korean press of the issue of the struggle against revisionism and the incorrect provisions of the SKYu program.

Nam Il admitted it was necessary for a number of critical articles to be placed in Rodong Sinmun and other journals and newspapers about the SKYu program and the incorrect behavior of the SKYu leadership at the 7^th congress with respect to the Soviet Union, the CPSU, and the other socialist countries.

Nam Il also provided information about the decision of the Chinese government to break economic ties with Japan in connection with the fact that the government of Japan is following the Americans' lead in refusing to approve the text of a trade agreement about a number of important and fundamental issues.

Nam Il expressed his opinion that it is advisable that  the KWP CC delegation to the 20 May conference in Moscow be headed by Kim Il Sung himself, inasmuch as very important economic issues will be discussed at the conference. Nam Il said we have no other leader who knows all the economic and administrative life of the DPRK so well.

I supported Nam Il's opinion.

USSR AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK [signature] (A. Puzanov)

[faded distribution list:]

1 - Cde. A. A. Gromyko

2 - Cde. Yu. V. Andropov

3 - Cde. M. V. Zimyanin

4 - Cde. I. I. Tugarinov

5 - to file

13 May 1958 Nº 23[2]