“There were about 300 to 400 portraits of the Russian president. There might be more.”
This was revealed by North Korean citizens to the Russian press corps, as reported by the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, in anticipation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to North Korea that officially began on the 19th. The press corps arrived in North Korea 12 hours before Putin, giving a preview of the locations the two leaders would visit. According to the report, from the Pyongyang International Airport and throughout the city, flags inscribed with phrases such as “We warmly welcome the Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin,” and “Long live the eternal North-Russian friendship” fluttered alongside the national flags of North Korea and Russia.
Some Russian journalists joked that “North Korean residents will dream of Putin at night” in response to residents’ claims that “more than 400 portraits of Putin were hung.”
The road from the airport to the hotel was described as quiet. The paper noted, “Reporters regularly saw large statues of North Korean leaders Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Il Sung in various forms.” The city was likened to Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, with hardly any cars on the road and only vintage buses painted in white and blue passing by.
The paper added, “In the sweltering 86 degrees Fahrenheit heat, portraits of the Russian president were attached not only to roadside pillars but also to high-rise buildings. At Kim Il Sung Square, where the official meeting between Putin and Kim will take place, a poster stating ‘North-Russian friendship will be eternal’ was constantly displayed.”
The paper reported that the journalists visited the places where the leaders of the two countries would visit, including Jeongbaek Temple (a Russian Orthodox Church), Liberation Tower (a memorial to Soviet soldiers who died in the Korean War), and Kim Il Sung Square. North Korean guides fluent in Russian accompanied them. These guides reportedly learned Russian at foreign language schools in Pyongyang or through textbooks.
Jeongbaek Temple was described as a “strict terracotta building,” while the Liberation Tower was described as a place where “a panorama view of the city can be seen from the observatory.” The paper also mentioned that one of the North Korean guides at the Liberation Tower requested the reporters to write that “North Korea is a normal country.” This guide quietly added that “the Internet is controlled by Americans.”
The paper noted that “the Internet in North Korea is a significant issue,” adding that “there is no Internet here, and you have to pay 2 dollars for 10 minutes of hotel Wi-Fi.”
Regarding the last location, Kim Il Sung Square, the paper repeatedly mentioned that “the entire square is filled with the national flags of Russia and North Korea,” and “portraits of Putin and Kim are displayed in the center. There is also a stage set up nearby, and not far from the square on a hill, there are huge portraits of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.”
The paper reported that the guides introduced them to a department store where “you can buy everything,” but they were not able to enter.
The report continued, “As you walk around the city, you can see ice cream shops and many people on the streets. In the stores, there were displays of vegetables, Korean food, and snacks, but the doors were closed. Souvenir shops displayed postcards portraying American imperialists and depicting the purportedly wonderful life in North Korea.”