A former North Korean diplomat who met Kim Jong-un seven times has revealed the terrifying rules people must follow when they come face-to-face with the Supreme Leader. Lee Il-gyu, who worked as a deputy director in the North Korean foreign ministry, detailed the strict protocols and the severe consequences of any misstep.
First meeting and impressions
Il-gyu first met Jong-un in November 2018, when he oversaw on-site coordination for Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit to Pyongyang. The two-day programme included talks with Jong-un, a banquet at Mokran House and a performance at the capital's May Day Stadium.
His interactions with the despot were largely limited to responding to Jong-un's follow-up queries, such as what aircraft the Cubans arrived on, what food they liked, and the country's population statistics.
Recalling the first encounter, 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.
Observing cruelty and consequences
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."
Il-gyu says 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 how a 60-year-old interpreter was disciplined after irritating Jong-un and "cutting in" while he was speaking.
Jong-un called him an "insolent man" even though he was simply doing his job translating, and ordered that he never be allowed "near" him again. The interpreter was carted off, but Il-gyu says the man escaped execution because he had a brother-in-law in the Organisation and Guidance Department, and was released after "criticism sessions"; this involved writing 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."
Strict rules for meetings
Later in the video, he revealed that those who meet Jong-un must undergo a month of special training and outlined the rules they must abide by.
"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."
The regime frames the recording as "compiling the chronicle of revolutionary history" and secretaries follow him around recording everything he says, adding that you must never lie. Il-gyu also says you mustn't stand out favourably either, so no flattery or "forcing a fake smile".
Summing up his impression of Jong-un, he reiterated that he's only a "human", but there is no force inside North Korea capable of checking him.
