Hungarian Embassy in the DPRK, Telegram, 18 January 1978. Subject: Invitation to Zia ul-Haq to visit the DPRK.

The Pakistani ambassador told me that a [Pakistani] response was given to the invitation that Comrade Kim Il Sung had sent, more than half a year ago, to Zia ul-Haq, the leader of the Pakistani military administration, for a visit to Pyongyang.

(Haq had a valid invitation [to the DPRK] in his earlier capacity, too. The visit that O Jin-u had paid to Pakistan in January 1977 was expected to be returned in the second half of 1977.)

In response to Kim Il Sung’s invitation, the Pakistani side had originally planned to carry out Haq’s visits to China and the DPRK on the same occasion. However, due to the uncertainties of the Pakistani domestic situation, Haq could not leave Pakistan for such a long time, and for this reason, after his negotiations in China he did not travel to the DPRK. The current letter was addressed to Comrade Kim Il Sung by name. The ambassador was instructed to give it personally to the addressee, and Comrade Kim Il Sung did  receive him in the first days of the year. The visit lasted for 10 minutes. According to the response, Haq is ready to travel to the DPRK in February or March [emphasis in the original].  

Upon receiving the letter, Comrade Kim Il Sung replied that he would study its contents. (The meeting was not published.)

20 – Szabó