Cable, Hao Deqing to the Foreign Ministry and the Central Committee, 'Comrade Pak Geum-cheol Discusses Kosygin's Visit to North Korea'

Cable Received by Central Committee

(65) No. 449

(Extra Urgent – Top Secret)

Comrade Pak Geum-cheol Discusses Kosygin's Visit to North Korea

—Comrade Hao Deqing’s Report of 11 February [1965]

[To] The Foreign Ministry and the Central Committee:

The cable dated 10 February [1965] was received.

This morning (the 11th [of February 1965]) at 10 a.m., I orally transmitted the situation of the Vietnamese-Soviet talks to Comrade Pak Geum-cheol [Pak Kum Chol] of the Korean [Workers’] Party Central Committee. Pak took the initiative to express the following:

“I would like to discuss the issue of [Aleksey] Kosygin’s visit to [North] Korea. This issue came about very quickly, so yesterday I talked very simply [about it] with you. They put forth on the afternoon of the 9th [of February] that we should invite a Soviet delegation to come for a visit. Recently, Premier Kim [Il Sung] and the leadership have been completing on the spot guidance across the country and only yesterday returned to Pyongyang. Chairman and First Deputy Premier Choe [Yong-geon] and other leading comrades all came back yesterday. We decided to invite the Soviet delegation for a visit. Yesterday when I met the Ambassador [I] did not know when they [the Soviet delegation] will come. This morning at 2:00 a.m. [I] received a notice that they will reach Pyongyang today at 4:30 p.m. As a result, our work preparations are extremely rushed. Guests are all of a sudden coming, and we need to receive [them] well. How and what we will discuss depends on the issues they put forth.

The bulletin transmitted to me yesterday by Ambassador [Hao Deqing] has already been given to Comrade Premier [Kim Il Sung] and [he] is currently researching [it]. The important bulletin transmitted to me today by the Ambassador has also been given to Comrade Premier. The delegation’s arrival is hurried, and [you] gave us a great help by providing this information [to us], so thank you.”

Hao Deqing

10:50 a.m., 11 February 1965