June 21, 1960
Journal of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A.M. Puzanov for 21 June 1960
This document was made possible with support from ROK Ministry of Unification
USSR EMBASSY [USSR MFA Far [USSR MFA General
IN THE DPRK East Department stamp: Secretariat stamp:
Nº 134 SECRET Incoming Nº 01711s SECRET Incoming Nº
9 August 1960 12-18 August 1960] 09152gs
12 August 1960]
TOP SECRET
Copy Nº 1
[Stamp: Foreign Policy Archive
Fond [[too faded to read]
Opis' 16, Yed. Khr. 85?7]
JOURNAL
of Soviet Ambassador in the DPRK A. M. PUZANOV for the period
13 through 28 June 1960
Pyongyang
[…]
21 June 1960
All the ambassadors and chargés d'affaires visited Choe Yong-geon at the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and congratulated him in connection with his 60th birthday and brought a basket of flowers.
Choe Yong-geon invited all of us to breakfast. A conversation was held during breakfast. For my part I spoke in especially great detail about the issue of the peaceful coexistence of countries with different economic systems. Choe Yong-geon and the ambassadors regarded my statements approvingly. The Chinese ambassador only listened (through an interpreter). There were no comments or statements from him.
On 22 June a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly was published in the Korean press about Choe Yong-geon being awarded the title of Hero of Labor of the DPRK. It is noteworthy that the decree begins with the following words: "Cde Choe Yong-geon, the closest comrade-in-arms of Cde. Kim Il Sung, in the darkest period of the rule…", etc. And here they could not avoid glorification of the personality of Kim Il Sung.
[...]
USSR AMBASSADOR IN THE DPRK
[signature] (A. PUZANOV)
Five copies printed - vp
1 - to Cde. A. A. Gromyko
2 - to Cde. Yu. V. Andropov
3 - to Cde. I. I. Tugarinov
4- to the USSR MFA UVPI
5- to file
Nº 397 8 August 1960
Puzanov reports on a meeting with Choe Yong-geon, noting that Choe was recently "awarded the title of Hero of Labor of the DPRK."
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