Journal of Soviet Ambassador to the DPRK V. I. Ivanov for 20 December 1955

ref 01089[3-4 illegible letters]

[USSR MFA Far

East Department

Stamp: SECRET  Top Secret

Incoming Nº 0404s        Copy Nº ___

7 February 1956]

SOVIET EMBASSY IN THE DPRK

JOURNAL

of Cde. V. I. IVANOV, Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK for the period from 20 December 1955 through 19 January 1956

Pyongyang

20 December

I visited Nam Il and informed him that, having studied the bills about the income tax on the population and also the agricultural tax, we think that these laws regulate the matter of tax administration in the country and will be a stimulus for further development of the economy.

On the question of the draft of the agricultural tax there is a comment: it would be advisable to clarify the text of the law to the effect that the agricultural tax is lowered if the harvest drops only in the event of natural disasters.

Nam Il noted that this paragraph means that, since this issue was broadly discussed when considering the draft in the Cabinet of Ministers. However, inasmuch as it causes some doubt in this wording this comment will be taken into consideration when the issue is considered at the session of the Supreme People's Assembly. He expressed gratitude for the advice.

Then Nam Il said that the issue of some Soviet Koreans is becoming complicated. At the present time statement have come in that Gi Seok-bok, Jeong Ryul, Jeon Dong-hyeok, meeting together, had expressed dissatisfaction with the existing leadership. Pak Chang-ok sort of intervened in this matter. Evidently the Political Council will examine these issues.

xxx

A meeting with Pak Jeong-ae was held at a session of the Supreme People's Assembly. I presented Cde. Pak Jeong-ae with a package from the CP of the [Communist] Party of Sweden sent to us to be passed to the KWP CC.

I informed Pak Jeong-ae that the CPSU CC had granted the request of the KWP CC about sending two delegation of political workers to the USSR in 1956 for 30 days to adopt the experience of the work of the CPSU and had also permitted a group of Koreans who are graduates of the CPSU CC Higher Party School to remain in Moscow for 20 days for familiarization with the practice of the work of CPSU Party organizations. It is desired that the arrival of the delegation in Moscow be after the 20^th CPSU Congress.

I also raised the issue that we would like to take steps for our Korean friends to become more broadly acquainted with the speeches of Cdes. Bulganin and Khrushchev which they made during the visits to India, Burma, and Afghanistan.

I said that on arrival from Moscow we will supply senior DPRK officials with a collection of these speeches in Russian. The Embassy does not have its own publishing house, however it would be desirable to also have such a collection in Korean for broader DPRK circles. I asked whether it was possible to publish such a collection as a supplement to the journal Druzhba [Friendship] published by the KOKS [Korean Society for Cultural Relations Abroad]. The collection of speeches has already been prepared in Korean in KOKS. This will be a brochure of 160 pages in a printing of 10,000, and will require 1.5 tons of paper. The Soviet branch of VOKS has three tons of paper, which we handed over to KOKS.

Pak Jeong-ae said that the CC considers the publication of this collection in Korean possible and necessary and she agrees with this. In addition, Pak Jeong-ae said that the KWP CC is thinking over a plan of measures to disseminate the speeches of Cdes. Bulganin and Khrushchev by radio, lecture propaganda, the Ministry of Culture, KOKS, and other forms, and that they are interested in this.

Pak Jeong-ae expressed gratitude for the information.

[…]

Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK [signature] (V. Ivanov)

Four copies

1 - to Cde. Molotov

2 - to Cde. Fedorenko

3 - to Cde. Kurdyukov

4 - to file

drafted by Ivanov

typed by M/B [SIC]

Nº 94

21 January 1956