I Spoke with Kim Jong Un - This Terrified Me (Life of North Korean Diplomat)

Summary

A former North Korean Foreign Ministry official describes meeting Kim Jong Un about seven times while helping manage events for a Cuban presidential delegation in Pyongyang. He recalls being intensely nervous at first, but says he saw both an ordinary side of Kim—such as his laughter and fascination with a magician’s trick—and a frighteningly arbitrary side.

One incident involved an interpreter whose simultaneous translations repeatedly interrupted Kim. Kim ordered that the interpreter not be used again. The man was taken away for criticism but returned to his post about a week later. The diplomat says the episode showed how a leader’s displeasure, without meaningful checks on his power, could alter someone’s fate.

Before meeting Kim, officials received a month of instruction on protocol: remain composed, do not approach or flatter him unprompted, answer briefly and accurately, and admit when something is unknown. The diplomat emphasizes that such rules reflect a system in which nobody can safely speak truth to the leader. He also describes how people copied Kim’s appearance until an order came down forbidding them from doing so.

The video also includes a young North Korean defector, introduced in the subtitles as Kim Kang-ho. He says he resolved to leave around 2013 and hoped eventually to bring his mother to safety. After years of uncertainty and work, he attempted a dangerous border crossing. When he encountered a guard, he froze despite believing he could escape. He describes the decision as driven by necessity rather than calculated odds, given the risk of severe punishment if caught. His mother later joined him in South Korea.

He recalls receiving his own passport, travelling to New Zealand, reuniting with his mother, and entering university as especially happy moments. He contrasts South Korean education, which he found focused on learning and personal development, with his experience of North Korean university, which he says emphasized ideological study. Both speakers express sorrow and conflicted feelings about North Korea: they regard it as a painful homeland while hoping its people will one day be free.

Presenters and Contributors

• Lee Il-gyu — Former North Korean diplomat, identified in the video metadata.
• Kim Kang-ho — Introduced in the subtitles as a North Korean defector.
• Interviewer/host — Not identified in the subtitles.