Telegram 065241 from the Romanian Embassy in Pyongyang to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Soviet Comments on Sino-North Korean Relations

TELEGRAM  065241

To: the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to comrade Constantin Oancea

From: the Romanian Embassy in Pyongyang

Subject: Soviet Comments on Sino-North Korean relations

Date: March 16, 1977

Classification: Secret

Soviet diplomats noted, with an obvious concern, that there has recently been a surge in activity in terms of Sino-North Korean relations.

According to them, this surge originated particularly after the North Korean Premier’s visit to Moscow in January this year, and consists of the following: politically, according to the USSR, Chinese support for the DPRK’s proposals for reunification issued on January 25^th 1977 is ‘more adamant and accentuated than before;’ economically, the North Korean delegation visited China in view of scientific and technological cooperation, and, more recently, there was a visit headed by the Vice Premier who signed a long-term trade agreement.

In our opinion, the Soviet concern regarding Sino-North Korean relations confirms what wider diplomatic circles have already suspected, namely that the DPRK was not satisfied with the outcomes of the North Korean Premier’s visit to Moscow, and that it is increasingly turning to the People’s Republic of China in the attempt to surpass its current economic difficulties.

What we find significant in terms of Sino-North Korean relations is the recent meeting between Chairman Hua Guofeng and the DPRK’s Ambassador to China, who had just concluded his mission in Beijing.  

Signed: Nicolae Gavrilescu