President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), eternal leader of the Korean people, was a
peerlessly great man who attracted the world with his ennobling affection for mankind
and virtues.
All his life he met over 70 000 foreigners including political and social figures. All
those who met him were attracted to him regardless of their ideologies, political views,
nationalities and religious beliefs.
A former justice minister of Austria said: President Kim Il Sung is possessed of warm
affection for man and humane feelings that make all follow him; just as beautiful flowers
give out fragrance to attract bees and butterflies, so the warm affection for man, humane
feelings and humane fragrance of President Kim Il Sung have attracted many people;
indeed, he is a boundlessly polite, unceremonious and generous man before being a
statesman.
With magnanimity, Kim Il Sung met figures from all social strata around the world,
including US evangelist Billy Graham, German authoress Luise Rinser and so on.
His humane feelings produced many anecdotes: When Emile Tompapa, general
director of a broadcasting station of Guinea, was at the jaw of death during his visit to the
DPRK, he ensured that an emergency medical treatment was organized so as to bring him
back to life; when Bruno Kreisky, former Austrian prime minister, suffered troubles in
his legs, he sent a group of efficient doctors of the DPRK to the country to cure his
disease. There are many people who were brought back to life by his great generosity.
Based on the principle that man is the most precious and powerful being in the world,
President Kim Il Sung authored the Juche idea that illumines the way for an independent
man to shape his destiny, and indicated the road ahead for the progressive people.
Attracted by his ideology and humane feelings, Takagi Takeo, famous Japanese
journalist, Kanemaru Shin, a former Japanese deputy prime minister, and many other
people made a dramatic U-turn in their life.
His ennobling sense of obligation reached beyond national boundaries.
He took care of the family of Zhang Weihua, his Chinese comrade-in-arms, and his
offspring even after dozens of years had passed since Zhang died; when Zhou Enlai,
former Chinese prime minister, passed away, he ensured that a bronze statue of Zhou was
set up in the DPRK for the first time as the one of a foreigner.
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In the days of the anti-Japanese war for the liberation of his motherland, Kim Il Sung
led the Korean revolutionaries to defend the Chinese revolution and the Soviet Union at
the cost of their blood. During the period of the operations to liberate Northeast China, he
saw to it that large quantities of war supplies were sent to China though his country was
in a difficult situation as it had been liberated from Japanese colonial rule not long ago.
The Chinese leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai said that the five-star red flag
of the People’s Republic of China was associated with the red blood shed by the Korean
revolutionaries.
Many people across the world established unique friendship with him, and this
relationship produced many anecdotes about his love for mankind. Among those people
were Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, Che Guevara,
Chilean President Salvador Allende, Chairman of the International World Group of Italy
Giancarlo Elia Valori, and Novichenko, a former army officer of the USSR.
He rendered an outstanding contribution to the independent development of the
countries in their building of a new society. When Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Algeria,
Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and other countries were experiencing
hardships in building a new society, he ensured that efficient experts and technicians
were sent to these countries, so as to render sincere assistance to the development of
various sectors, ranging from building a party, state and armed forces to developing
industry, agriculture, education, public health, sports and so on.
For his ennobling sense of internationalist obligation, he enjoyed high respect and
trust of many political leaders across the world, including Stalin, Mao Zedong, Sukarno,
Tito and other famous persons in the 20 th century.
The attraction to his personalities and humane feelings pulled down even the barriers
of hostile relations.
Former US President Jimmy Carter said that President Kim Il Sung was greater than
the three American presidents, who had represented nation building and destiny of the
United States–George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln–put
together. Former Deputy Prime Minister Kanemaru Shin of Japan said that there was no
other ennobling person equal to President Kim Il Sung in the world, and that he would
dedicate the rest of his life to living up to his expectations. As the former Portuguese
President Gomes said, Kim Il Sung was a great man who moved the world by his
humanity.
