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

…7 December 1957

I visited Kim Il Sung. I present him with two newsreels, the Anniversary Session of the USSR Supreme Soviet.

Kim Il Sung thanked [me].

Kim Il Sung provided information about the KWP CC Plenum. The Plenum was held on 5 and 6 December. Up to 1500 people were present at the Plenum and about 20 people spoke. The Plenum went in an organized manner and at a high ideological and political level. The Plenum completely approved of the results of the Moscow conference and the historical documents adopted by it. There was sharp criticism at the Plenum against the reactionaries and their sympathizers. Kim Du-bong and Pak Ui-won were criticized especially sharply. It developed that when criticizing himself at the CC at the end of this year Kim Du-bong did not tell us everything. For example, it was not known that during the September 1956 Plenum Peng Dehuai was at Kim Du-bong's apartment and had a long conversation with him. During Kim Du-bong's speech many questions were asked of him by the audience [s mest]. Pak Ui-won spoke poorly. He, too, was asked many questions and was given sharp remarks. There were no remarks or comments from Presidium members.

In order not to distract participants of the Plenum from a discussion of the main issue about the Moscow conference the report about the factionalists was stated only in general terms, but inasmuch as the issues of the anti-Party activity of the factionalists were touched on in the speeches by many comrades at the Plenum and there was a need to take decisive measures against them, it was necessary to dwell on these issues in more detail in the closing speech. In the closing speech I said that it is inadvisable to especially explore the issue of the factionalists at this Plenum, which is devoted to the discussion of the important issue of the results of the Moscow conference. The Plenum agreed with this suggestion.

The Plenum adopted a detailed decision which completely approved the work of the Moscow meetings and the documents they adopted. The decision which was adopted especially pointed to the need for a further strengthening of the unity of the socialist countries headed by the Soviet Union.

Kim Il Sung then said that a meeting of the DPRK Cabinet of Ministers was held today at which the economic plan for 1958 was examined and approved in the presence of the chairmen of provincial Party and people's committees. It provides for an increase of gross industrial output of 21% and 3,300,000 tons in the gross grain harvest. Today Gosplan Chairman Ri Jeong-ok made a report at a meeting of officials of district committees about the agricultural plan for 1958.

I thanked Kim Il Sung for the information.