Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 7 December 1960

SOVIET EMBASSY [faded USSR TOP SECRET

IN THE DPRK MFA stamp:   Copy Nº 1

0198s

21 January 1961

31 December 1960

Nº 193

JOURNAL

of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK Cde. A. M. PUZANOV

from 19 November through 28 December 1960

[…]

7 December 1960

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Kim Il said that the KWP CC and DPRK government leadership express gratitude and appreciation to the CPSU CC and Soviet government in connection with the USSR Government Statement. Support by the Soviet government for our proposals concerning the peaceful reunification of the country exerts great influence on the public opinion of all countries and the population of South Korea.

I said for my part that the USSR MFA has given instructions through Soviet ambassadors in neutral countries to make diplomatic overtures and exert influence with respect to the position of the governments of these countries concerning the Korean question. In addition to the information previously sent to Cde. Pak Seong-cheol [Pak Song Chol] I reported that according to information which has been received the Iraqi delegation to the 15th UN General Assembly session will take a more constructive position than previously. While flying to the session Jwad, the Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, will contact V. A. Zorin, Soviet Permanent Representative to the UN. in order to determine Iraq's possible assistance to the success of the solution of the Korean question.

Kim Il expressed gratitude for this report. Then, touching on the situation in South Korea, he said that the pressure of the popular masses and world public opinion is forcing the leaders of the political parties and public organizations of the South to define their positions about the issue of the peaceful reunification of the country. For example, the new democratic party, which split off from the Democratic Party in spite of its reactionary composition, essentially favors the idea of peaceful reunification. The Socialist Masses Party completely supports this idea. Even the head of the government, Jang Myeon, favors talks about an exchange of correspondence and mutual talks between the South and North at a suitable moment. Such public strata as intellectuals, merchants, and others also express themselves increasingly actively in support of peaceful reunification. At the present time the Jang Myeon government is in confusion in connection with the increasing struggle of the people for their vital rights and the peaceful reunification of the motherland. Kim Il said, the people's struggle in South Korea serves as confirmation of that position of the Moscow Declaration which points out that the aggressive intrigues of imperialism can be curbed as a result of vigorous actions by the popular masses for peace. He added, we think that as a result of the active assistance of the USSR and all countries of the socialist camp the international situation is developing favorably for a solution of the Korean question by peaceful means and in the interests of the Korean people.

I noted for my part that the familiarization of representatives of neutral and African countries in the UN with the specific and well-presented proposals of the DPRK government will have great importance.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Seong-cheol who was present at the conversation asked the USSR MFA to distribute the documents of the seventh DPRK Supreme People's Assembly which were sent to DPRK Ambassador in the USSR Ri Song-un to be presented to the USSR MFA among the delegates of the General Assembly.

I replied that I would pass on this request to the USSR MFA.

The conversation was interpreted by Embassy Third Secretary D. A. Priyemsky and the Minister's interpreter.

I was at a dinner held by Czechoslovak Ambassador S. Kohousek together with Hungarian Ambassador Prath Karoly.

Exchanging opinions about the results of the 8^th session of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly both ambassadors expressed their sharp dissatisfaction that in Deputy Premier Ri Jeong-ok's report, "The Results of the Fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan for the Development of the DPRK Economy for 1957-1961", which he made at the session, nothing at all was said about the enormous aid of the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries. S. Kohousek also made critical comments about several proposals contained in Choe Yong-geon's report and the Letter with respect to the material and technical aid to South Korea in the development of its economy. In his opinion, the proposal to grant South Korea 700 motorized ships for seven years, including fishing vessels with a 3,500-ton displacement and metal ships with a displacement of 450 tons, and also annual deliveries of 1,000 railroad cars is completely unrealistic.

S. Kohousek and Prath Karoly also expressed their dissatisfaction that the MFA Byurobin is changing the Korean citizens who have long worked at the Embassies without any grounds or agreement from them, and in return for those who had already mastered the work and were working well are sending inexperienced workers and doing this with a great delay.

Prath Karoly also said that Korean specialists who had been educated in Hungary had completely stopped visiting their Embassy. P. Karoly then noted that they had never used the visits of these Korean specialists to their Embassy to collect any information. The latter usually came to the Embassy in order to find out about one or another achievements in the field of science and technology, and also to state their requests and wishes about getting scientific and technical journals and textbooks.

[…]

SOVIET AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK [signature] (A. Puzanov)

Five copies sent

1 - Cde. A. A. Gromyko

2 - Cde. Yu. V. Andropov

3 - Cde. V. I. Tugarinov

4 - UVPI MID SSSR [Translator's note: While the last two abbreviations expand to "USSR MFA" the only known expansion of the first abbreviation is "Directorate for POWs and Internees Affairs"]

5 - to file

Nº 543, re

30 December 1960