Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. Puzanov for 31 May 1958

TOP SECRET

Copy Nº 3

USSR EMBASSY IN THE DPRK

Nº 113

12 June 1958

[faded stamp:

01664-s

24 June 1958]

[handwriting: "Copy to Cdes.

Torbenkov

Samsonov"]

JOURNAL

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

period 31 May through 11 June 1958

[handwriting off the

left margin with some

names and initials]

Pyongyang

31 May 1958

[…]

At the invitation of Nam Il we visited the Seohyeon agricultural cooperative of the district of Yongcheon together. Like other CC members and senior officials this agricultural cooperative was assigned to Nam Il to be given help in work. The agricultural cooperative is economically weak. Last year the harvest was very low as a consequence of a lack of water for irrigation. In addition, during the year there was no chairman of the board of the agricultural cooperative. With Nam Il's help the provincial committee recommended and members of the agricultural cooperative elected a former chairman of the district agricultural department as chairman of the agricultural cooperative. A mass replanting of seedlings is going on in the agricultural cooperative which they are promising to finish no later than 10 June. The corn, sunflower, and cotton crops inspected are suffering from drought. The corn and sunflower crops need thinning and weeding. The chairman of the agricultural cooperative explained the delay in the weeding and thinning by a shortage of manpower and the use of the available members of the cooperative for transplanting rice seedlings.

I was at a store in the agricultural cooperative. There are some cotton fabrics, moccasins [komusiny - SIC], soap, crockery, dried fish, vodka, beer, small wares, and other goods for sale. However, the selection of goods in extremely limited. The quality of the goods is low and there are no standards [kul'tura] in the store.

During the trip Nam Il told of Kim Il's good impression from the conference of leaders of fraternal Communist Parties in Moscow and from the conversation with Cde. N. S. Khrushchev. Nam Il said that CC Presidium members also remained very satisfied. They are also satisfied that the leaders of the Communist Party and Soviet Government were informed about the conditions and state of affairs in our Party and the DPRK economy. They know both our successes and shortcomings, they know what efforts we are making to unite the ranks of the Worker's Party and raise the economy and living standards of the people. The interest and attention shown by Cde. N. S. Khrushchev in our affairs and the help given us in the work delight and inspire us to overcome the existing difficulties more quickly.

[…]