A North Korean defector who met Kim Jong-un seven times has disclosed the strict regulations people must observe when meeting him. As Supreme Leader of one of the globe's most oppressive regimes, Kim Jong-un has earned a formidable reputation for governing with ruthless authority, delivering savage punishments to those who resist or anger him.
North Korea is notorious for its harsh and extensive human rights abuses, including accounts of torture, rape, forced abortions, enslavement, murder and public executions, with officials allegedly even executed using an anti-aircraft gun in 2016. In 2014, merely three years after coming to power, speculation also surfaced that Kim personally commanded his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, and five assistants to be stripped naked and hurled into a cage containing 120 attack dogs.
Diplomat's firsthand experience
One individual who understands completely the perils of unconstrained executive authority is Lee Il-gyu, a former North Korean diplomat who served as a deputy director in the Hermit Kingdom's foreign ministry. In November 2018, Il-gyu oversaw on-site coordination for Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel's visit to Pyongyang. The two-day itinerary featured talks with Kim Jong-un, a banquet at Mokran House and a performance at the capital's May Day Stadium.
Il-gyu stated his exchanges with the dictator were mainly restricted to answering Kim's follow-up questions, such as which aircraft the Cubans travelled on, what cuisine they preferred, and the nation's population figures.
First meeting and impressions
Naturally, the interviewer was curious what it felt like to meet Kim Jong-un. Il-gyu said in a translation in a joint 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, in that it's like "meeting a God". Yet it also "didn't feel like ordinary contact" between human beings either. He says every moment during those days was loaded with tension. "What struck me most", he continued, "or rather, in those short two days, I saw Kim Jong-un's cruelty, and I also saw an ordinary human being."
One word of criticism
Il-gyu says Kim Jong-un is capable of laughter and even showing "consideration", but he also learned how "cruel and how terrifying" a person with unchecked power can be. He recalled a 60-year-old interpreter being disciplined after irritating Kim Jong-un and "cutting in" while he was speaking. Il-gyu claims Kim Jong-un branded him an "insolent man" despite simply carrying out his job translating, and commanded that he never be permitted "near" him again.
The interpreter was hauled away, but he says the man avoided execution because he had a brother-in-law in the Organisation and Guidance Department, and was freed after "criticism sessions"; this involved penning self-criticisms for an entire week. Il-gyu says: "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."
Training and rules for meetings
Later in the video, he disclosed that those who encounter Kim Jong-un must complete a month of special training and detailed the rules they must follow. "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."
He added: "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 clarified that the regime portrays the recording as "compiling the chronicle of revolutionary history" and that secretaries will shadow him, documenting everything he utters, adding that one must never lie. Il-gyu also advises against standing out in a positive light, so no flattery or "forcing a fake smile". Summarising his perception of Kim Jong-un, he reiterated that he's merely a "human", but there is no power within North Korea capable of challenging him.
