For the first few years of its existence, the DPRK was quite different from the country we know now.

The main difference, of course, was that the country was totally controlled by the Soviet Union. The man ruling the country was not Kim Il Sung, but rather Soviet Ambassador Terentiy Shtykov, and the very fact that Kim kept his position was to a very large extent dependent on his relations with the all-powerful ambassador.

Kim and Shtykov were good friends – they often drank and played card games together. When Kim lost, the Great Commander had to climb under the