The following happened in December Juche 55(1966) when President Kim Il Sung was having one-on-one talks with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

They discussed a wide range of serious issues, including bilateral relations, matters of mutual concern in relation to the international communist movement, economic cooperation and cultural exchange between the two countries, and military affairs.

Having begun in the morning, the talks went on into the afternoon.

As the talks were coming to an end, the General Secretary stood up with his hands on the desk and stooped to look at the notepad lying in front of Kim Il Sung, an act which was unprecedented in the history of diplomacy.

Everyone there was curious, and gazed at the two leaders.

The General Secretary asked: “I’m sorry, Comrade Kim Il Sung, but what is that notepad? You spoke so fluently about the wide-ranging issues without referring to anything but that mysterious notepad, so what on earth is written in it?”

“Do you mean this?” Kim Il Sung said.

He smiled, opening the blue-covered notepad, and showed it to the General Secretary.

The latter stared hard at the mysterious notepad.

All he saw were a few triangles and a few lines of writing.

Then he looked from Kim Il Sung to his notepad, as if forgetting that he was in diplomatic talks.

Still with a doubtful look, he sat back down again.

He could not believe that Kim Il Sung had not referred to anything except the notepad throughout the talks, while discoursing on such a wide range of issues- political, economic, military, cultural and philosophical.

At a party that evening, the General Secretary said to Kim Il Sung: “You are a great man with wide-ranging knowledge, Comrade Kim Il Sung. I have met many heads of state and other people, but never such a universal genius as you.”