Man who met Kim Jong-un seven times exposes tyrant’s chilling dark side | World | News
Kim Jong-un has gained a fearsome reputation for ruling with an iron fist (Image: SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images)
A North Korean defector who has encountered Kim Jong-un on seven occasions has revealed the chilling protocols people must observe when meeting him. Kim, 42, made headlines this week amid reports he had died following a brain haemorrhage. Adding to the intrigue was the hermit nation’s English language news site Pyongyang Times mysteriously going offline. North Korean state media hit back at the claims with photos of Kim at an exhibition yesterday, seemingly alive and well.
As the mystery over the tyrant’s well-being continues, a North Korean defector has provided disturbing insight into the brutal dictator’s personality. Lee Il-gyu is a former North Korean diplomat who worked as a deputy director in the Hermit Kingdom’s foreign ministry.
Lee Il-gyu is an ex-diplomat who worked as deputy director in the North Korean foreign ministry (Image: Getty)
In November 2018, Il-gyu handled on-site coordination for Cuban President Miguel Dรญaz-Canel’s visit to Pyongyang. The two-day schedule included discussions with Kim, a banquet at Mokran House and a performance at the capital’s May Day Stadium.
Il-gyu stated that his interactions with the despot were largely limited to responding to Kim’s supplementary questions, such as which aircraft the Cubans travelled on, what cuisine they preferred, and the nation’s population figures.
Meeting Kim Jong-un for the first time
Understandably, the interviewer was eager to discover what the experience of encountering Kim felt like. Il-gyu explained in a translation featured in a collaborative video for Dimple Video and The NK Guys on YouTube: “The first time was at the airport. In the VIP waiting room, my whole body was tight with nerves. The first thing I said, I could hear my own voice shaking as I spoke.
“But it only lasted a moment. If I’d stayed that tense, I couldn’t have done my job properly. And failing at that job carries serious consequences, so I pulled myself together fast. Anyway, at first, I was extremely nervous.”
Il-gyu claims his impression “wasn’t quite” what the North Korean media likes to describe (Image: Getty)
Il-gyu maintains his impression “wasn’t quite” aligned with what North Korean media typically portrays, in that it resembles “meeting a God”. However, it also “didn’t feel like ordinary contact” between two people either.
Impressions of Kim’s character
He describes how every single instant during those days was filled with tension. “What struck me most”, he went on, “or rather, in those short two days, I saw Kim Jong-un’s cruelty, and I also saw an ordinary human being.”
Il-gyu states that Kim possesses the ability to laugh and even demonstrate “consideration”, yet he also observed directly how “cruel and how terrifying” an individual wielding absolute power can be. He remembered a 60-year-old interpreter facing discipline after annoying Kim and “cutting in” while he was speaking.
One word of criticism
He alleges Kim labelled him an “insolent man” merely for fulfilling his responsibilities as a translator, and insisted he never be permitted near him again.
The interpreter was removed immediately, yet succeeded in escaping execution owing to a brother-in-law employed within the Organisation and Guidance Department, and was ultimately released following “criticism sessions” – a procedure that entailed writing self-criticisms for an entire week.
Il-gyu states: “At the time, we honestly thought the man’s life was over. One word of criticism from Kim Jong-un changes a person’s fate.”
Il-gyu learned how “cruel and how terrifying” a person with unchecked power can be (Image: Getty)
Training to meet the Supreme Leader
Subsequently in the footage, he revealed that anyone granted an audience with Kim must undergo a month of specialist training, and outlined the stringent rules they are obliged to observe.
“The most basic ones cover speech and conduct. So don’t fidget, don’t sway, no unnecessary movements. And don’t look Kim Jong-un directly in the face for any length of time. And if he turns and comes your way, step aside politely.
“Don’t scramble or panic. Move aside politely and carry yourself with composure. And as for speaking, before Kim Jong-un asks you a question, you must never speak to him on your own initiative or volunteer any show of excitement. Absolutely not.”
Everything is recorded
“You answer only when he asks, and that answer can’t be like the way I’m talking now, rambling on with unnecessary detail. Short, concise, and as accurate as possible. Above all, never pretend to know something you don’t. Everything around him is recorded.”
He described how the regime frames the recording procedure as “compiling the chronicle of revolutionary history”, with secretaries following his every movement and documenting his statements, while stressing that complete honesty is compulsory.
Il-gyu further disclosed that distinguishing oneself in a favourable way is similarly prohibited, meaning no flattery or “forcing a fake smile” is allowed. Providing his overall evaluation of Kim, he underlined that the leader remains simply a “human”, yet no domestic power within North Korea exists that can hold him accountable.
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