Journal of Soviet Ambassador to the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 16 February 1958

…16 February 1958

I had a conversation with Ri Dong-yong during a hunt.

Ri Dong-yong informed [me] that a Plenum of the Pyongyang City Party Committee was held on Saturday, 15 February, at which delegates were elected to the KWP Party conference. Ri Dong-yong said that among the delegates elected were many former Soviet Koreans, including himself, Tyan Ik-hwang [sic] (Deputy Minister of Culture and Education), the chief of the city police, an instructor of the state university, and others. Ri Dong-yong then said that recently the attitude from the CC and government leadership toward Soviet Koreans had become very attentive, warm, and good. Ri Dong-yong noted, I tell you this in connection with the fact that last year I said something not entirely correct in some cases about the attitude of some senior officials toward Soviet Koreans. At the present time I cannot say that there is any incorrect attitude.

Ri Dong-yong also reported that a report had been received from their Ambassador in Moscow Ri Sin-pal about a conversation which had been held with Yu. V. Andropov, Chief of the CPSU CC Department [for Relations with Communist and Worker's Parties in Socialist Countries]. According to the Ambassador's report, at the beginning of the conversation Andropov mentioned a statement of Cde. N. S. Khrushchev in a conversation with the leadership of the Korean Party-government delegation on 21 November 1957 that the CPSU CC completely supports the measures of the KWP CC directed at preserving the unity of Party ranks. Andropov then reported that at the request of the KWP CC the CPSU CC had expelled Ri Sang-jo as a student of the Party School and Kim Seung-hwa as a student of the CPSU CC Academy of Social Sciences. Kim Seung-hwa will be sent from Moscow to Alma-Ata and they intend to send Ri Sang-jo to Kiev, but if there are Korean students there then he will be sent to another city. As regards the eight Korean students of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography who renounced Korean citizenship, it would not be entirely correct and suitable to use methods of forcible return. Andropov said, for our part all steps by the Korean friends directed at strengthening political and educational work among Korean students in the Soviet Union will be supported. Ri Dong-yong said the MFA had informed the KWP CC about this report. Kim Il Sung remained satisfied with Andropov's conversation with our Ambassador in Moscow.

I thanked Ri Dong-yong for the information.