Great Man Admired by the World

President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was a great man who enjoyed the high esteem and reverence by the world people, transcending differences in ideology, system, political view and religious belief.

Below are some remarks made by renowned statesmen and figures in the East and West of the world.

Iosif Stalin of the former Soviet Union:

“Comrade Kim Il Sung is a genuine proletarian internationalist and a paradigm of communist movement, who defended our Soviet Union at the cost of the blood, with arms, from the aggression of the imperialists in the East. It is quite inconceivable that without the struggle of genuine communists like Comrade Kim Il Sung the Soviet Union is unable to carry on socialist construction in such a peaceful environment as today.”

Chairman Mao Zedong of China:

“Comrade Kim Il Sung, you are the only one that can see to the world revolution. I request sincerely that you lead the world revolution and the international communist movement in the future, as well.”

Fidel Castro of Cuba:

“Comrade Kim Il Sung is most experienced and prestigious among the leaders across the world.”

Josip Broz Tito, president of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia:

“Comrade Kim Il Sung is the wisest man. He has done so many things in his generation that the following ones will have no more work to do.”

Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam:

“I am older and began revolution earlier than Comrade Kim Il Sung. However, I am just his disciple.”

Great King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia:

“There had been not only a few people who felt pity for my country, but none of them given us assistance in real earnest with no other strings attached. It was only His Excellency Kim Il Sung of the DPRK who helped us unconditionally and self-sacrificingly.”

President Sukarno of Indonesia:

“Respected Your Excellency Kim Il Sung, please allow me to name this newly-born flower of the orchid family Kimilsungia, after your august name. It is the unanimous desire of myself and Indonesian people.”

President Samora Moises Machel of Mozambique:

“As the great hero Comrade Kim Il Sung showed us the road ahead, we could break the fetters that shackled our ancestors and ourselves, and greet the liberation free from the slavery lot.”

President Mitterrand of France:

“President Kim Il Sung was a great head of state. He was the greatest of those who have been active since the Second World War. I am the only one among the heads of seven industrial nations (G-7), who was lucky enough to meet President Kim Il Sung. I regard this as a great honour.”

Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States:

“President Kim Il Sung of the DPRK was a great leader who was prominent and well-versed in everything. He was greater than George Washington, the first president of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the most illustrious early US presidents, all combined.”

Gomes, former president of Portugal:

“The operations plans advanced by the United States in the war (Korean war of 1950-1953) were all formulated after several rounds of discussions by dozens of bourgeois generals, like chiefs of staff and military specialists, of the Western countries on the US side. But General Kim Il Sung frustrated them all single-handed. Witnessing it, I learned that General Kim Il Sung was the one and only military strategist and a great general.”

Mark Clark, former commander of the “UN Forces”:

“The north Korean army could emerge victorious (in the Korean war) thanks to General Kim Il Sung’s efficient command.”

Billy Graham, US evangelist:

“I felt no need for preaching the gospel in north Korea. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments all deal with the God’s will that loves human being. The love for human being is executed as a state policy in that country. Free medical care, free education and the state responsibility for the people’s clothing, food and housing—these are state policies put forward and being pursued by President Kim Il Sung. North Koreans hold him as their God. I thought bible was not necessary in such a country.”

Luiser Rinzer, writer of the former West Germany:

“As a devout believer I offered prayers to God, but never once a flower bouquet. However, I want to present President Kim Il Sung this flower bouquet. You deserve it well, for you have established this all-people-equal society even the God failed to.”

Jean Carlo Valory, secretary general of Italian Research Institute of International Relations:

“Visit to the DPRK has become one of my annual events. The Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca every year, but I make a pilgrimage to Pyongyang to receive the instructions of President Kim Il Sung. Should I necessarily become a believer, I will be a faithful devotee of the Juche idea and President Kim Il Sung.”

Che Guevara, internationalist fighter:

“I was greatly moved by Comrade Kim Il Sung, who said though his country was still undergoing hardships, it would give active support to the Cuban people. The words of the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung gripped my heart completely. From this moment on I will keep his words as the dictum of my life. And I firmly swear that I will remain faithful to my dictum to the end.”

Shin Kanemaru, former deputy prime minister of Japan:

“President Kim Il Sung is a great statesman and a great man, who cannot be found in the history of the world. As I was seeing a great man, I shed tears in front of him from the first moment I saw him. I was so fascinated by his greatness that I felt as if I passed out. Nay, I passed out, indeed. It is regretful for me that I have met such a great man in the twilight years of my political career.”