“I am merely a disciple of Comrade Kim Il Sung” (1)
Though Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh was 22 years older than President Kim Il Sung, he presented a lot of gifts to the DPRK leader on over a dozen occasions with absolute trust in and profound reverence for him.
In October Juche 45(1956), he conveyed to a government delegation of the DPRK on a visit to Vietnam the “Portrait of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung” and a set of silver vessels to be presented to the President as gifts.
He explained to them how he prepared the gifts:
“I have looked up at and respected Comrade Kim Il Sung, a peerless patriot and national hero, who had conducted adroit operations in the vast areas of Manchuria while looking at the Great Bear during the anti-Japanese war to wipe out a huge army of a million Japanese troops.
“I have long called Premier Kim Il Sung a peerlessly brilliant commander, but felt regretful that I couldn`t help him much, even though I wished him good health, in the days when the DPRK experienced hardships.
“Nevertheless, I have always kept him in my heart and visualized his image.
“I have prepared the portrait of him in military uniform as a gift as a show of my affection and reverence for him, a hero who had led to brilliant victory the great Fatherland Liberation War against US invaders.
“I have also prepared silver vessels as gifts in the hope of his good health.”
Three years later, Ho Chi Minh sent an Indian elephant as a gift to Kim Il Sung.
In order to prepare this gift, he instructed officials to investigate the elephant situation in all parts of the country and held an emergency Cabinet meeting where he made them decide to send the “Hero” Elephant as a gift to the President, saying that it will be the best gift as he is the great leader of the heroic Korean people who defeated the US imperialists that had boasted of being the “strongest” in the world for the first time.
“I am merely a disciple of Comrade Kim Il Sung” (2)
Presenting the ornamental bed cloth embroidered with peacock and peony, pillowcase and ornamental wall cloth as gifts to Kim Il Sung who visited Vietnam in November Juche 53(1964), President Ho Chi Minh said to him: “Every time I was in trouble, I always missed General Kim Il Sung and redoubled strength and courage. Today I am extremely glad to meet Premier Kim Il Sung for the second time here in Hanoi, after winning the victory in the revolution. We will always remember through generations the thankful kindness of Comrade Premier who sincerely assisted our revolution both materially and morally despite the difficult situation of the country.”
President Ho Chi Minh, the pioneer and leader of the Vietnamese revolution had been respected and trusted by the people who dearly called him “Grandfather Ho”.
President Ho Chi Minh used to tell them who respected him that “it is not me but Comrade Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people who deserves to be highly respected by the Vietnamese people. Although I am much older and started revolution earlier than him, I am just a disciple of Comrade Kim Il Sung”.
Kim Il Sung had energetically supported anti-US national salvation struggle of the Vietnamese people with the noble internationalist obligation and unsparingly provided every possible help to their struggle.
President Ho Chi Minh always held him as his mentor and would seek to solve problems arising in the Vietnamese revolution and construction according to his instructions. Deeply impressed by the gains of socialist construction in the DPRK and the wise leadership of Kim Il Sung in particular, he said that he is like a legendary figure of the olden times.
