Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. Puzanov for 26 June 1958

JOURNAL

of USSR AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK A. I. PUZANOV during the period

14 to 30 June 1958

[handwriting partly off the page:

I. V. Nikitin [[illegible name]]

Yu. I. Ognev

[[illegible signature]]

10 July 1958

Ognev

21 July 1958]

Pyongyang

I was on an official business trip in Moscow from 14 to 26 June. I was at a CPSU CC Plenum. I returned to Pyongyang together with a DPRK military delegation which had visited the USSR at the invitation of Marshal of the Soviet Union Ya. R. [sic, R. Ya. is correct] Malinovsky and [had also visited] Czechoslovakia at the invitation of the Minister of National Defense.

in conversations during the trip the leader of the delegation, Minister of National Defense Kim Gwang-hyeop [Kim Kwang Hyop], recalled with great warmth the meetings and conversations with leaders of the USSR Ministry of Defense, commanders of military units, and chiefs of military educational institutions which the military delegation had visited. Kim Gwang-hyeop said that this trip was very useful to us and we will use very much of what we saw in our Korean People's Army in order to improve its combat training and the political education of soldiers and commanders.

xxx

In the evening after arriving in Pyongyang I was at a reception at the DPRK Cabinet of Ministers on the occasion of a farewell ceremony for the Chinese people's volunteers (the second stage).

Before the start of the reception I was invited to the members of the KWP CC Presidium but during the reception I was at the table together with PRC chargé d'affaires Counsellor Cao Kejiang, Presidium members Kim Il Sung, Pak Jeong-ae, and the Chinese generals commanding the units returning home.

Kim Il Sung asked, when does Cde. Shevchenko plan to come to the DPRK?

I replied that Cde. Shevchenko wanted to leave with me, but could not because of illness.

Kim Il Sung talked about the state of affairs in industry and agriculture. Kim Il Sung said, industry is working well. The plan for the first six months will be over fulfilled. The coal industry is letting [us] down a little. Accidents have occurred at mines as a consequence of a gross violation of safety rules and labor discipline. Some days ago at one of the mines there was a big accident with casualties. There were up to 30 victims. Cigarettes were found at the site of the accident. Evidently one of the workers grossly violated the safety rules and smoked, and as a result an explosion occurred. We consider the situation in agriculture normal although it was necessary to go through a tense period in connection with drought. There were good rains in most of the regions of the republic beginning with the second half of June. The situation remains serious in some regions of the province of North Pyongan. However, we think that the gross grain harvest will be higher than in 1957.

Kim Il Sung and I arranged to meet on 27 June to inform him of the results of the June CPSU CC Plenum.

Kim Il reported that the treatment of some cows which had fallen ill is going successfully thanks to the enormous aid given by Soviet veterinarians.

[…]

USSR AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK

[signature]

(A. PUZANOV)

[Faded distribution list:

five copies printed

Gromyko is first and "to file" is

the last, but the other names and

information are unreadable]

FROM THE JOURNAL

OF M. S. KAPITSA

[faded stamp:

Nº 8077gs

3 July 1958]

SECRET Copy Nº 1

3 July 1958

Nº 703/dv