Record of a Conversation with Kim Yong-jin, Chief of the KWP Department of Public Organizations

FROM THE JOURNAL of [stamp of         SECRET

Attaché of the Soviet [USSR MFA      Copy Nº 2

Embassy in the DPRK Far East    Ref N139

A. A. Surkov Department

Incoming Nº 2754s  

6 July 1955]

RECORD OF A CONVERSATION

with Kim Yong-jin [sic], Chief of the KWP CC

Department of Public Organizations

14 June 1955

I visited Kim Yong-jin [sic] by previous arrangement. The conversation was held about the issue of the recent activity of the YeDOF [United Democratic Fatherland Front] and the measures of the Worker's Party to strengthen the YeDOF.

Kim said that after the war the KWP CC was faced with the task of strengthening the YeDOF and uniting all the parties and organizations in it. But such a task was complicated by the fact that some Worker's Party officials and even individual Worker's Party organizations undervalued the work of strengthening cooperation with parties and public organizations in the YeDOF. There were some unjustified actions with respect to members of other parties and organizations: discrimination in the supply of food, in appointments to leadership positions, etc. This greatly harmed the strengthening of the influence of the Worker's Party both among members of other parties and organizations and among people who were not members of these parties and organizations.

[Handwritten in the left-hand margin of the first page: "to Cde. V. I. Petrukhov" followed below by two initials]

At the 7^th KWP CC Plenum in December 1958, the issue of strengthening the work of the YeDOF, eliminating the shortcomings committed in the work with various parties and organizations in the YeDOF, and strengthening cooperation with them was discussed especially. In the period from the 7^th KWP CC Plenum to the present time the issue of the activity of the YeDOF was not discussed in the KWP CC especially and no decisions were made about this issue. Nevertheless, by order of the KWP CC from time to time provincial Party committees organized an inspection of the work of the administrative bodies and Worker's Party organizations to strengthen cooperation among parties and the organizations in the YeDOF. The results of the inspection were discussed at meetings of the bureaus and presidiums of the provincial committees of the Worker's Party. This issue was also touched on at conferences of chairmen of KWP provincial committees convened by the KWP CC. Kim Il Sung always stressed the importance of strengthening the YeDOF at these conferences.

The work of the YeDOF CC as well as of provincial and district committees is not planned but is done in campaigns. For example, during the Geneva Conference a YeDOF CC letter was sent to Geneva; in November 1954 the YeDOF CC worked out measures to implement the appeal of the eighth session of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, adopted a message to 37 parties and public organizations of South Korea, etc.

Mainly the work both in the YeDOF CC and in the YeDOF provincial and district committees is directed by the secretaries of the corresponding YeDOF committees who are without exception all members of the Worker's Party. The Secretary of the YeDOF CC is appointed by the KWP CC, and the secretaries of the YeDOF provincial and district committees are appointed by the KWP CC Department of Public Organizations and report to these organizations in their work.

Lectures and seminars on various issues are held weekly for YeDOF senior officials. The lecture and seminar materials are selected by the corresponding committees of the Worker's Party.

The CC and local committees of the YeDOF report to the corresponding KWP committees about their work.

Touching on the YeDOF parties and organizations in the South, Kim said that during the KNA's retreat the leaders of a number of parties and organizations crossed to the North. Middle-and low-ranking officials remained in the South. There is no direct communications with the organizations in the South at the present time.

In terms of communications with Korean organizations in Japan the YeDOF CC has direct telegraph communications with them and communications via letters which are sent through China. In individual cases the YeDOF CC sends their people to Japan through China.

In connection with the 10^th anniversary of the liberation of the country, the YeDOF CC intends to invite delegations from Japan and South Korea to the DPRK.

I thanked Kim for the information. He expressed a desire to meet again and asked that he be given literature describing the activity of patriotic fronts in the European countries of people's democracy, the GDR in particular, if the Embassy has it. He is interested in this issue as the Chief of the KWP CC Department of Public Organizations.

I promised to select and send material of interest to him from the literature which we have.

EMBASSY ATTACHÉ [signature]  (A. Surkov)

[distribution list reproduced

over text:

Four copies printed

1 - Cde. Fedorenko

2 - DVO

3 - Cde. Tugarinov

4 - to file

Nº 4[30]

Drafted by Surkov

Typed by Verina

[date unreadable]