Memorandum, Hungarian Foreign Ministry

On 16-24 May 1983, I visited the DPRK in the course of a courier trip. On the suggestion of our embassy, on May 17th I paid a courtesy visit in the Korean Foreign Ministry to the scholar Pang Yong-kab (a senior contributor) and Ho Kwang-ho, an official of the Hungarian desk. On 19th, they invited me to dinner. [...]

During the conversation, which lasted for nearly one hour, I inquired about the direct Sino-South Korean negotiations that had followed the hijacking of the Chinese airplane, having coordinated [my action] with Comrade [Ambassador] Sandor Etre. Comrade Pang’s response to [this inquiry] was that they had also been surprised by [the event] but they are convinced that the People’s Republic of China continues to support the DPRK in its efforts for national unification in the same way as before, nor will it establish a relationship with the South Korean puppet regime in the future. The visit of the Chinese foreign minister in P’yongyang was scheduled for the time of the dinner, and Comrade Ratkai asked whether the episode in Seoul was to be put on the agenda of the talks held during the visit, to which Comrade Pang responded as follows: “Yes, we will reproach them.”

Budapest, 30 May 1983

Ferenc Szabo     Lajos Hajdu