In April 1965 President Sukarno and the people of Indonesia warmly welcomed Premier Kim Il Sung visiting their country.
It was when he visited the Bogor Botanical Garden, conducted by the Indonesian President.
Showing an exceptionally beautiful flower arousing a noble emotion, Sukarno openheartedly said that as the idea of Premier Kim Il Sung is great and moves the world, it can be claimed that he has the whole world and so he wanted to call the beautiful and rare flower Kimilsungia, naming after him.
Kim Il Sung thanked him for showing the wonderful flower, saying it is very beautiful. And he politely declined the offer, adding he had done nothing particular and it was too kind to name the flower after him.
But Sukarno repeatedly said he would call the flower Kimilsungia from that time, noting that Premier Kim Il Sung deserved the honour as he had already rendered distinguished services for humankind.
It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for President Sukarno to name the flower after the great man and present it to him as a gift. When he visited Pyongyang in 1964, he thought over and over what kind of gift he would present to Premier Kim Il Sung and even called government officials to discuss it as an agenda item.
After returning from the DPRK tour, he regretted having met Premier Kim Il Sung so late and told the officials that they must follow his examples in all aspects and he wanted to present a precious gift to him.
After repeated thinking, he decided to name the most beautiful and precious flower in Indonesia after Kim Il Sung and present it to him as a gift.
