Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. Puzanov for 20 May 1958

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USSR EMBASSY IN THE DPRK

Nº 112

30 May 1958

[faded stamp:

07238-gs

11 June 1958]

[MFA Far East

Department stamp:

Incoming Nº 01579

12 June 1958]

[handwriting: "To Cdes. [[two names illegible]]

Arrange with the Main Directorate of the

Civil Air Fleet about the crew for government aircraft]

JOURNAL

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

period 13 May through 29 May 1958

[handwriting:

to Cde. Samsonov

for implementation.

N. Torbenkov]

Pyongyang

[…]

20 May 1958

I visited Nam Il at his invitation, and he informed me about the following issues.

First. The DPRK delegation for familiarization with the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes in Soviet Union has been approved and is composed of: Jeong Jun-taek, Deputy Premier (leader of the delegation); Choe Seong-se, Chairman of the State Committee for New Technology; Ri Sin-pal, DPRK Ambassador in Moscow; Kim Heon-bong, Prorector of Kim Il Sung University; he works for the DPRK in the USSR at the institute in Dubno [Translator's note: SIC; Dubna was undoubtedly intended, since it is the location of a Joint Institute for Nuclear Research]; Pak Sin-uk [sic], chief of the KWP CC science sector; Jeong Byeong-su, chief of the laboratory of nuclear physics of the DPRK Academy of Sciences; and Choe Tae-bo [sic], researcher of the Academy of Sciences.

The delegation will leave in the middle of June.

Second. The following senior officials have been selected in accordance with the invitation of the CPSU CC and the USSR Council of Ministers for vacation and treatment in the Soviet Union: Pak Jeong-ae, Nam Il, Jeong Jun-taek, Ri Song-un, CC member and Chairman of the Party Committee of Pyongyang City; Kim In-seong, candidate CC member and Chairman of the KWP CC Party Control Committee; Choe Cheol-hwan, CC member and Chief of the Administration of Affairs of the Cabinet of Ministers; Pak Seong-cheol, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Kim Yeong-ju, Deputy Chief of the CC Organization Department; Ri Hae-jun, Chairman of the KWP CC Auditing Commission and Chief of the Personnel Directorate of the Cabinet of Ministers; and Han Jin-tae, Deputy Chief of the KWP CC Department of Science and Education.

Nam Il said that he himself is going on vacation in the Soviet Union with [his] wife and four-year-old child at the end of June or the beginning of July. Nam Il said, while in the Soviet Union I would like to visit the Uzbek and Kazakh SSR's and Chelyabinsk Oblast' where I worked before being sent to Korea and where our relatives now live. As regards the vacation, then [we] would like to go to those places where one can catch fish, since I don't need any treatment.

I exchanged opinions with Nam Il that during the visit of senior KWP CC and DPRK government officials in the Soviet Union it would be good for them to meet with senior CPSU CC and Soviet government leaders. Nam Il muttered that he has to visit Minister of Foreign Affairs A. A. Gromyko and is thinking of visiting CPSU CC Secretary [M]. A. Suslov.

Nam Il informed [me] that the KWP CC had charged Kim Il, who has flown to Moscow, with visiting Cde. N. S. Khrushchev and again inviting him to visit the DPRK this year at the head of a Party-government delegation.

Third. On 5 June there will be a KWP CC Plenum with the following agenda:

a) the state of and measures to improve trade (a report by Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Jin Ban-su);

b) concerning an increase of the production of consumer goods (a report by Minister of Light Industry Mun Man-uk).

The plenum will last three days.

On 9 June there will be a session of the Supreme People's Assembly which will consider and approve the five-year plan for the development of the DPRK economy for 1957-1961 (a report of Gosplan Chairman Ri Jeong-ok). Nam Il said, after the session CC Presidium members and other senior officials will go to their voters for several days in order to tell them in detail about the five-year plan adopted by the 1^st KWP Party Conference and the session of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Fourth. Yesterday, 19 May, a KWP CC Presidium meeting was held at which such important issues were examined as:

a) concerning the national movement for the level of sanitation of cities, workers' housing, and populated rural locations;

b) about cultural and housing construction in the countryside;

c) about the condition of trade in the city of Pyongyang.

According to Nam Il's report the KWP CC and government are devoting special attention to eliminating sources of the population's developing distoma [flukes] (a cough) in the near future; during this year flies are to killed and wells and other sources of drinking water, etc. are to be brought into a sanitary condition. A special inspection of the sanitary condition will be conducted the last Saturday of every month in all institutions and organizations, and measures will be taken to fight for cleanliness and good health habits [kul'tura] at work and in everyday life.

Nam Il said, as regards the construction of housing, clubs, schools, and public baths in the countryside, it has been decided to pursue this construction primarily in the strongest agricultural cooperatives which have monetary resources. The government will help agricultural cooperatives by selling construction materials.

[…]