"Mostly Propaganda in Nature:" Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

"Mostly Propaganda in Nature:" Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and the Second Korean War NKIDP Working Paper #3 address that acknowledged economic problems in the crucial areas of coal and steel, and ordered the mobilization of one million women into the labor force. 88 The following year he admitted that production was, "not abundant as to meet all the requirements of the people," and in 1966 he told the Second Korean Workers Party Conference, "We must . . . radically improve the material and cultural life of the people." 89 Recent revelations from the communist archives more fully demonstrate the depth of the economic crisis. As early as 1963, Kim confessed to Soviet Ambassador V.P. Moskovsky that coal and ore mines had fallen very much behind and were "failing to satisfy consumption." 90 The nation was suffering from serious power shortages, which by 1966 were so extreme that newly built industrial plants had to postpone their operations. 91 Agriculture was afflicted as well, Moskovsky reported, hindered by antiquated equipment, outdated approaches, and a manpower shortage so extreme that about a million urban industrial workers had recently been relocated to work the farms. 92 Even the DPRK military suffered. A visiting Czechoslovakian colonel who participated in DPRK exercises in 1965 pronounced their equipment outdated by 15-20 years, noting that more than half of the tanks used in a recent exercise had broken down before reaching their targets; the following year officials had to delay the construction of a series of mountain fortifications and a Pyongyang subway system that was being built for military 93 purposes. Kim's allies not only recognized the decline but also worried about its impact on 88 Suh, Kim Il Sung, p. 218. 89 From "The Present Situation and the Tasks of our Party," October 5, 1996, in Kim, On Juche in our Revolution, volume 1, p. 575. 90 "Memorandum of a conversation with the USSR Ambassador c. V.P. Moskovskyi and the GDR Ambassador c. Otto Becker," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 7 th Territorial Department, May 16, 1963, State Central Archive in Prague, File # 267, 261/01-OZU, p. 2. 91 February 25, 1966 report from Hungarian Embassy, in North Korean International Documentation Project (NKIDP) electronic archives, at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=230972. 92 "Memorandum of a conversation with the USS Ambassador c. V.P. Moskovskyi and the GDR Ambassador c. Otto Becker," p. 4. 93 Tanks in May 15 1965 memo by Hungarian Ambassador Jozsef Kovacs in North Korean International Documentation Project (NKIDP) electronic archives, at www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp 30
Mitchell Lerner NKIDP Working Paper #3 December 2010 economic relations. Czech officials expressed concerns that not only was the DPRK likely to request adjustments to their repayment schedule for a loan granted the previous decade, but that the poor quality of North Korean imports and the failure of the DPRK to deliver promised goods in 1965 and 1966 also made stable trade relations even more unlikely. 94 No surprise, then, that a 1967 request by DPRK officials to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Trade for a large credit to purchase Czech industrial equipment was rejected. 95 Beyond the specific details of economic deprivation, however, it was clear that the economic situation was failing on another important level: as a sign of the government's ability to maintain Juche in economic relations. The inability to reach widely publicized objectives, the public admissions of shortcomings, the presence of massive amounts of imported goods, the inadequacy of shelter and sustenance, and the obvious cancellation of many major industrial and social projects, had fostered problems that transcended simple economic need. Since North Korean society evaluated everything from within a construct that demanded economic stability and independence, the failure to achieve these results was a violation of the most sacred precepts of North Korean life. A decline in public morale had became noticeable; "living standards had stagnated in the last years," reported a Romanian official, "which caused tension in the country." 96 Kim, for the first time in a decade, appears to have had legitimate reasons for concern about the stability of his regime. Perhaps the poor economic performance would have been less threatening had Kim's pursuit of Juche in political life been more successful, but circumstances beyond his control http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=230972 ; Subway in February 25, 1966 report from Hungarian Embassy, in North Korean International Documentation Project (NKIDP) electronic archives, at http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=230972 . 94 "Information about Development of Politics of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and of Czechoslovak- Korean Relations," 1967 (no date), p. 10-11. 95 Ibid, p. 11. 96 February 25, 1966 report from Hungarian Embassy. www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp 31
Page 1 and 2: NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTA
Page 3 and 4: THE NORTH KOREA INTERNATIONAL DOCUM
Page 5 and 6: "Mostly Propaganda in Nature:" Kim
Page 7 and 8: Mitchell Lerner NKIDP Working Paper
Page 33: Mitchell Lerner NKIDP Working Paper
Page 49 and 50: www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp 45 Mitch
Page 53 and 54: DOCUMENT APPENDIX DOCUMENT No. 1 *
Page 57 and 58: Letter from GDR Embassy in the DPRK
Page 63 and 64: www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp Mitchell
Page 65 and 66: Letter from GDR Embassy in the DPRK
Page 79 and 80: DOCUMENT No. 10 * * * Mitchell Lern
Page 85 and 86:
Mitchell Lerner NKIDP Working Paper
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
www.wilsoncenter.org/nkidp 87 Mitch
Page 93 and 94:
On the Development of the Economy M
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103:
show all

"Mostly Propaganda in Nature:" Kim Il Sung, the Juche Ideology, and ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?