December 14, 1965
Cable from the Chinese Embassy in North Korea, 'Foreign Minister Pak's Discussion with Ambassador Jiao on Several Issues during the Banquet'
This document was made possible with support from MacArthur Foundation
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Foreign Minister Pak's Discussion with Ambassador Jiao on Several Issues during the Banquet
[To the] Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
On the evening of the 13th [of December 1965], Mr. and Mrs. Foreign Minister Pak [Seong-cheol] held a banquet for Mr. and Mrs. Ambassador Jiao Ruoyu. [Foreign Minister Pak] also invited the Counsellor, First Secretary, and Second Secretary [from the Chinese Embassy]. On the Korean side, the Secretary for Etiquette and the Secretary of the 3rd Department, along with their spouses, and some instructors were present.
When discussing the “Korea-Japan Treaty” [the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea], Pak said: Japanese militarism has already been revived, but the European countries are indifferent to this. As the focus of our foreign activities, we must expose Japanese militarism.
When discussing the situation in Indonesia, Pak said: From Sukarno’s statements, he is a leftist and still advocates for nasakom [nationalism, religion, and communism]. Although he is in an unfavorable situation, his prestige among the people is still high. Speaking this way, the people have many directions. [Pak] also said that, experts who study the Indonesia issue [say] that Indonesia has many islands and historically it was divided into many small countries. The revolution has its own characteristics. In the event of a guerrilla war, many of the islands may establish independent countries. The situation could become fragmented. This is unfavorable to the unity of Indonesia.
When discussing the situation in Vietnam, Pak said: In the past, many countries did not believe that the Vietnamese people could defeat the American imperialists, so they refused to support [Vietnam]. Now they are seeing the victories of the Vietnamese people, that the Vietnamese people are able to defeat the American imperialists. So now these countries are turning to support the struggle of the Vietnamese people.
Ambassador Jiao asked what news [Pak] had about [Anastas] Mikoyan stepping down [as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]. Pak did not answer, but said that [Alexander] Shelepin had weakened [those] in power.
[Chinese] Embassy in [North] Korea
14 December 1965
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Pak Seong-cheol briefs Ambassador Jiao Ruoyu on the Japan-South Korea treaty, the situations in Indonesia and Vietnam, and the power struggle inside of the Soviet Union.
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