From the 1960s True Parents initiated and supported a global movement to confront the communist ideology and its practice. Father would speak about North Korea and its leader Kim Il Sung. Yet, against all the odds, in the later months of 1991 True Parents were able to visit North Korea. That they could go at all was a miracle and that they could engage so personally, meaningfully and productively with the leader of the strongest communist dictatorship of all time evidences the great work of God. Not long after Father and Mother and their party returned from Pyongyang, Dr. Peter Kim gave the following testimony to the American members in New York.
By Dr. Peter Kim
World Mission Center (New Yorker Hotel), New York City
December 15, 1991
Part 3 (Click here to read Part 1 and Part 2)
In the afternoon, Deputy Prime Minister Kim came. This was the second round! Because of the experience Chairman Yoon had in the morning, he told Deputy Prime Minister Kim, “Watch out. Since you are in charge of the economy in our nation, you had better stick with issues to do with economics.”
As soon as we sat down at the table, Deputy Prime Minister Kim said to Father, “Rev. Moon, I heard you gave a good sermon this morning. I have already heard it, so shall we discuss matters to do with the economy?”
Father smiled and said, “All right.” He somehow kept his promise and did not get into head-wing ideology and things like that, but brought up something else. Father focused on reunification. This is a very sensitive political issue, as is nuclear capability. North Korea may have the capacity to build an atomic bomb in a few years. The American government is very nervous about it. The South Korean and North Korean governments have been discussing and fighting over this issue. Father suggested to reunify those families divided because of the Korean war. Until now, the governments of North and South had been negotiating to make arrangements for those divided families to meet, but nothing had been worked out so far.
Father stuns the senior North Korean government officials with his words
Father said, “Our railroad [running from North to South on the Korean Peninsula] has been disconnected for over forty years, since the Korean war. Let’s reconnect it. If you agree, I will come up with funding, and I will rebuild the railroad. You know l am working on the International Peace Highway Project. The tunnel has been started on Japan’s side now. Eventually I want to build a highway from Busan all the way to Yalu River and go beyond that even to Europe. So let’s open the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) area and build a highway.”
Father also said, “The most beautiful mountains in the world, and best place for a resort area in your country are the Diamond Mountains. When I was growing up in North Korea, I had many chances to visit those beautiful mountains. I have not gone to visit the mountains yet, because until I see the reunification and independence of my country, I do not want to go sightseeing. I will come up with foreign investors to develop that area and make the best resort in the world.
Let’s build an economic industrial park around the DMZ area where South and North can work together. We will build factories. South Korea can provide technology and funds, North Korea can provide labor, and together we can sell the goods throughout the world.”[1]
This statement flabbergasted Deputy Prime Minister Kim.
Father said, “Tell your boss to make an announcement in the newspaper that all the secret agents and spies you sent in the last forty-five years to South Korea to topple the government, and the people who live in South Korea who are still communists, should surrender to Rev. Moon and be educated in my head-wing ideology.”
Can you believe this? When Deputy Kim heard this statement, he just stood up and walked around. Father could have spoken another few hours easily, but because of the schedule he could not continue.
The night before we had attended a small banquet and entertainment, but on December 1 the government prepared the biggest and best night of entertainment. The emcee said, “We are honored to dedicate this performance to Rev. and Mrs. Moon who have come here for the first time in forty-five years.”
When we returned to the guest house, we got a message from Deputy Prime Minister Kim saying, “We will continue our talks tomorrow, but please do not bring Rev. Moon.”
Father said, “No. I have to go and teach them.” At the meeting the next day Father gave the speech he had prepared in Hawaii. He had wanted to give it to Premier Kim Il Sung directly, but Father already sensed that Deputy Prime Minister Kim and Chairman Yoon had lost their confidence to introduce him to Kim Il Sung. In their minds they would lose their jobs and their lives. So Father thought, if he could not tell Kim Il Sung directly, that he could at least give the message to these people. At the meetings there are always three or four people from the secret police behind the conference table taking notes. They report every little detail directly or indirectly to Kim Il Sung. The key point Father said was this, “For the sake of the reunification of Korea, and for the sake of world peace, I, Rev. Moon have to be the initiator and leader, and under me you, Premier Kim Il Sung, and President Roh Tae-woo, will work as my deputies; we all work together.” They would have to agree to this and sign so on paper. Also he said, “All of the North Korean spies and agents in South Korea must surrender to me and be educated in head-wing ideology.”
A meeting with Kim II Sung looked very unlikely
Think about it. We were right in the middle of a country where they could kill anybody, anytime. Nobody in their history openly opposed Juche ideology or openly criticized or accused Kim Il Sung. It was another record. Father said, “I have to tell you the truth. This is the message from God. I cannot hide it.” Father said many times, “I am a straightforward man. I do not keep anything hidden.” They knew Father was a straightforward person, but when they heard this, they could not even speak. Deputy Prime Minister Kim and the officials could not even lift their heads or look back because they knew the secret police were recording everything. It was out of control. They told me after Father left that they thought Father was so powerful and so earnest, that they could not control him so they just stayed quiet and hoped he would finish quickly. Father knew they could not accept his words right away, but he wanted Premier Kim Il Sung to somehow get this report.
By the end of the meeting Chairman Yoon and Deputy Prime Minister Kim both surrendered. In the beginning they were supposed to test Father, but they said, “Rev. Moon is beyond our grasp.” They are younger than Father, so Father sometimes would say, “You are like my son, are you not going to listen to me?”
On December 2 they were planning for Father to meet with Kim Il Sung, but after Father’s speech they said no way. After Father gave the speech they said, “Rev. Moon, please go and enjoy sightseeing.” Dr. Pak and I were the only ones left behind to deal with their anger. Father knew that, and as he left he said, “You have a good meeting, I am going now.”
After about ten minutes they came to us said, “How could you do this? This is totally unacceptable, impossible. We never imagined this. Therefore we cannot have any kind of conference!” They were furious, though they were still polite to Father. I am sorry to tell you we were threatened. At that point, I was seriously thinking about Father’s safety. They said, “Nobody can guarantee Rev. Moon’s plane will land in Beijing safely.”
As we believe True Father is our father, they call Kim Il Sung their father. Kim Il Sung is a living king there. His word is their law and constitution. They always have to decorate wherever he visits like a holy ground—factories, rice paddies, any place. He is the supreme authority there. But Father said Kim Il Sung should come under him! “He has to listen to me. Give up juche ideology and follow head-wing ideology.” Can you believe it! If anybody else had done this, like Dr. Pak or me, we would be gone. But Father is so well known, and also Father’s strategy was to give a press release as soon as he left Beijing to go to Pyongyang. Even the China morning paper printed the information, so all over the world the news was out. They had to be careful too, but they were so angry, so furious, so disappointed, so frustrated, that they threatened us. But we could not do anything. We just sat there and talked about this and that. Their testing period was over and the chance for Father to meet with Premier Kim II Sung was very slim now.
Continued next week…
[1] The Kaesŏng industrial park was the realization of this idea (though research would need to be done to show it was a direct result of Father’s words to the North Korean government officials more than 10 years earlier). It operated as a collaborative economic development with South Korea, employing North Korean workers, until political disagreements led to its closure.