The North does keep its promises…
According to Oh My News an interesting thing happened at Panmunjom today - the North Koreans handed over two black and white photographs. These are pictures that they had previously promised to donate to the Kim Ku Memorial Hall showing Kim Ku and Kim Il-sung meeting one another in P’yôngyang in spring 1948. An interesting scene for anyone (like me) interested in the two Koreas in the late 40s.
I wouldn’t like to declare photographs provided by DPRK forgeries until proven otherwise, but it doesn’t take much imagination or even ill will towards DPRK to think that all’s not normal at least in the second of the pics in the Ohmynews article.
And besides of the question of authenticity of the photos, DPRK wouldn’t send pictures which did not show Kim Il-sung in the leading position, would it? Kim Il-sung showing the way to go for Kim Ku, the most widely respected political leader in the Republic of Korea…
Comment by Antti — October 3, 2005 @ 6:11 am
You know, I hadn’t even thought about the possiblity they might be forgeries, which just shows what kind of a historian I am. However, I don’t think there’s that much that can be read into the pictures - assuming they’re not forgeries I don’t see anything odd about Kim Il-sung leading the way, he is, after all, on home territory. I do find his insouciant stare at the camera in the first picture fascinating and strangely compelling though.
Comment by kotaji — October 3, 2005 @ 9:38 am