How Kim Il Sung broke free from the Soviet Union



Features How Kim Il Sung broke free from the Soviet Union Pyongyang deftly exploited Moscow's weakness in securing its independence Fyodor Tertitskiy March 18, 2019 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Wikimedia commons For the first few years of its existence, the DPRK was quite different from the country we know now. The main difference, of course, was that the country was totally controlled by the Soviet Union. The man ruling the country was not Kim Il Sung, but rather Soviet Ambassador Terentiy Shtykov, and the very fact that Kim kept his position was to a very large extent dependent on his relations with the all-powerful ambassador. For the first few years of its existence, the DPRK was quite different from the country we know now. The main difference, of course, was that the country was totally controlled by the Soviet Union. The man ruling the country was not Kim Il Sung, but rather Soviet Ambassador Terentiy Shtykov, and the very fact that Kim kept his position was to a very large extent dependent on his relations with the all-powerful ambassador. Try unlimited access Only $1 for four weeks Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis Year-one discount if you continue past $1 trial period The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Features

How Kim Il Sung broke free from the Soviet Union

Pyongyang deftly exploited Moscow's weakness in securing its independence

Fyodor Tertitskiy March 18, 2019

How Kim Il Sung broke free from the Soviet Union

Wikimedia commons

For the first few years of its existence, the DPRK was quite different from the country we know now.

The main difference, of course, was that the country was totally controlled by the Soviet Union. The man ruling the country was not Kim Il Sung, but rather Soviet Ambassador Terentiy Shtykov, and the very fact that Kim kept his position was to a very large extent dependent on his relations with the all-powerful ambassador.