Report by Dr. Pataki János, 'The visit of Korean councilor Ahn Gi-son'

Record

Subject: The visit of Korean councilor Ahn Gi-son

On February 4 I met the Korean councilor Ahn Gi-son at his request.

In his introduction he said that he arrived to Hungary in the last few days, he is expecting our help and support, and he is also grateful for all the assistance the embassy has received so far.

I reassured him that just as up until now, he can expect any possible support in the future as well. I also added that for us to make our own steps, it is very important to be informed, and I asked for his help in this. The councilor agreed.

Following this, the councilor brought up a concrete issue as well. He referred to the following: in 1971 Comrade Szarka, on the request of the DPRK, relayed the invitation of the DPRK’s government to the UN Permanent Representatives of Sierra Leone, Kuwait, and Cameroon in New York. At that time these visits were not realized. The DPRK would like to renew the invitation, and ask Comrade Szarka to inform the leaders of the mission, or if there are no permanent representatives then to inform the chargé d’affaires of the aforementioned countries that the government of the DPRK still considers the invitation valid, and hopes that the invited could comply with it.

The invitation also extends to wives and family members.

To my inquiry for when (July, August, etc.) they would wish to invite the aforementioned parties, the councilor could not give a definite answer. He said that he will notify us once he asks this from his center, and requested us to send this additional information to Comrade Szarka once known.

At last, I inquired about the negotiations of the DPRK and the South Korean Red Cross, as they are relevant to UN issues. The councilor informed me about the otherwise well-known circumstances of the negotiations and added that currently they only agreed on their locations. They will be held alternatingly in Pyongyang and Seoul, but they have not yet managed to come to an agreement about their agenda. The government of the DPRK strongly wishes to promote reunification of the separated family members, but the South Korean regime is against this. They openly stated that regarding their large numbers, uniting the family members would mean uniting two parts of the country.  The councilor lastly added that the intention of the DPRK is that the negotiations with the Red Cross would lay the foundations of the practical politics required for peaceful reunification.

The conversation, through the interpreter of the Embassy, lasted for about 45 minutes in a peaceful atmosphere.

Budapest, 1972 February 4.