Journal of Soviet Ambassador to the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 7 October 1957

7 October 1957

[...]

I visited Nam Il at his invitation. Nam Il reported that Kim Il Sung had talked with him by telephone today and had advised him to hurry up with the preparation and dispatch of the letter to the UN about the murders of South Korean citizens by American troops.

Nam Il asked [me] to get in touch with the USSR MFA and find out its opinion about the advisability of sending such a letter at the present time.

I replied to Nam Il that I had made such an inquiry after the conversation which was held on 2 October.

Nam Il thanked me for the information. Then he informed [me] that at the order of the government DPRK Minister of Foreign and Domestic Trade Jin Ban-su had addressed a letter to the Minister of Trade of South Korea about opening Kaesong for South Koreans for reciprocal visitation for the purpose of trade, and for the North Koreans [opening up] another border city in South Korea.

This letter will be published in the press tomorrow, 8 October. I gave orders about sending a copy of the letter to your Embassy.

I thanked Nam Il for the information.

Nam Il also said that he had investigated in detail with the Minister of Communications about establishing VCh communications with Moscow. According to information of the Minister of Communications at the present time work to set up a line is being done in the Pyongyang-Voroshilov link (a former VCh communications line). All the necessary work will be finished this year.

The DPRK government asks the Soviet government to give orders about setting up VCh communication beginning in 1958.

I promised to pass this request to the Soviet government.

Speaking of the trip to Moscow, Nam Il said that in the name of the KWP CC and DPRK government Kim Il Sung is inviting the leaders of the CPU and Soviet government to visit the DPRK in 1958.

I tactfully said in this connection that I had directed Nam Il's attention to the fact that KWP CC and government leaders rarely visit a neighboring fraternal country, Great China, and as far as I know, are not taking the necessary steps to invite Party-government and other delegations of the Chinese friends, whereas mutual contacts between leaders of neighboring countries, and what is more with a socialist country, which China is, are vitally necessary and will bring much benefit to the DPRK, indeed to the entire cause of socialist development in our camp of socialism.

Nam Il completely agreed with such comments, saying in the process that things had actually developed such that Kim Il Sung has been in the Soviet Union annually but has not been in the PRC since 1954. There are no special reasons or circumstances explaining this. We really need to visit our Chinese friends more often, to meet with them both here in the DPRK and in the PRC. Contacts between our Party and government leaders should be more frequent. We will think about a whole series of measures in this direction.

I added for my part that besides official meetings of leaders, there might also be practical unofficial meetings. For example, as you know, the CPSU CC annually invites Party and government leaders of the socialist countries for vacation and treatment in the Soviet Union. So it also was this year. However, few DPRK officials have been in the USSR: just Deputy KWP CC Chairman and Deputy Premier Jeong Il-yong and Minister of Finance Ri Ju-yeon. But as far as I know, they too did not make any attempts to meet with our leaders. But not use this invitation more broadly? Then KWP CC Presidium members would have an opportunity to become familiar with the life of the peoples of the Soviet union and have personal contact with CPSU CC and Soviet government leaders along with a vacation and treatment.

Why are such trips also not organized to the PRC?

Nam Il agreed that these are very important forms of personal contact which they need to take into account in the future.