July 31, 2021 is a day of great significance as it marks the 17th anniversary of the conferment of “The Grand Cross Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia” and “The Grand Necklace Order for National Independence of the Kingdom of Cambodia”, the most prestigious state orders of Cambodia, on the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il when he met with the Great King Norodom Sihanouk and the Great Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

In April 2004, Norodom Sihanouk, the then King of the Kingdom of Cambodia, paid another friendly visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the occasion of the Day of the Sun, the day of the greatest national jubilation of ours, cherishing the boundless yearning for President Kim Il Sung and the invariable friendly feelings towards our people.

The visit to our country by the Great King Norodom Sihanouk was an occasion for him to look back once again upon the special and brotherly relations formed with President Kim Il Sung more than 4o years ago. It also served as an occasion for him to personally witness the reality of the DPRK, the one and only country in the world where the cause of immortalizing the leader was accomplished with brilliance.

From his first meeting with the Great King in Bandung, Indonesia in 1965, till the very last moment of his great life, President Kim Il Sung always regarded him as a close friend and brother, however the situation may change in Cambodia, and rendered sincere support to the righteous struggle of the Cambodian people.

The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il , who resembles President Kim Il Sung in all aspects, placed a high value, more than anybody else, on the special brotherly relations forged between the President Kim Il Sung and the Great King and had always paid a deep attention to the Great King’s noble activities of patriotism.

The Great King Norodom Sihanouk was so much moved by a lofty sense of moral obligation of the great Comrade Kim Jong Il . Overwhelmed with emotion, he said as follows: During the long period of my life in exile, His Excellency Generalissimo Kim Il Sung and his successor of prominence, Marshal Kim Jong Il were so meticulous about me showing warmest hospitality. Now I’m 82, but I’m still healthy and could achieve good and useful results so that the Cambodian people could attain national liberation and complete independence and exercise sovereignty.

As the Great King was so much charmed by such an ardent love and moral obligations, he sincerely prayed for the immortality of the great Comrade Kim Il Sung in the whole period of his visit to the DPRK. It was out of his great admiration for the great Comrade Kim Jong Il that the Great King also awarded him the highest orders of the Kingdom of Cambodia – “The Grand Cross Order of the Kingdom of Cambodia” and “The Grand Necklace Order for National Independence of the Kingdom of Cambodia”, and presented him with the personally written and composed song “Cambodia-Korea Friendship”.

The historic meeting on that date between the great Comrade Kim Jong Il and the Great King Norodom Sihanouk served as a significant occasion in continuing to strengthen and develop the friendly relationship between the DPRK and Cambodia generation after generation.

Today, respected Comrade Kim Jong Un , President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is showing deep attention to further development and strengthening of the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with Cambodia, which were provided by President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il .

Time passes by, rivers and mountains change and the situation would alter. However, the friendly and cooperative relations between the DPRK and Cambodia will invariably follow the track of dynamic development, based on the undying feelings and moral obligations between the two peoples.

Korea-Asia Association