One day in February 1968, Kim Il Sung visited the Mangyongdae Disabled Soldiers’ Fountain-pen Factory, to an enthusiastic welcome. In the maintenance shop, he examined products made by a lathe operator. He noticed that the operator was awkward in his movements, and asked him where he had been wounded. As he expected, the worker answered that he had been wounded in the spine.
“The spine?” the leader’s face became longer.
“In which battle?” he asked.
“In the battle of Height 1211.”
“Well, you are a hero of Height 1211.”
He passed his hand all over the veteran’s back, asking where he had been wounded and if he felt pain in this or that part.
The veteran answered in a tearful voice that he was all right.
The leader asked him if he had a wife. Wiping away his tears, the soldier answered yes.
After thinking a while, the leader asked. “Do you have any children?”
“Yes, four!”
“As many as four?” Kim Il Sung’s face brightened. “Good! Very good! I am glad to hear it.”
He excitedly embraced the soldier. “How good it is that you have children!” he said with a beaming smile. He then asked the veteran to work hard and bring up his children well.
