President Kim Il Sung was held in admiration for his attractive personality and benevolence as well as his Juche idea. Among his foreign friends is Angel Castro Lavarrello who was the chairman of the Peru-DPRK Friendship and Cultural Association.

On September 15, Juche 62 (1973), Kim Il Sung met a delegation of the association led by Lavarrello on a visit to Korea.

Warmly welcoming them at the doorway, he gave each of them a hearty handshake—it felt as if he were meeting his old friends after a long time.

Before official talks, he had a chat, asking about their health and family situations.

Attracted by his generous and unassuming personality, Lavarrello and his delegation gave vent to their inner thoughts, sometimes making unusual requests without reserve.

Kim Il Sung answered each of their questions in easy terms, and talked about the world situation, socialist construction and happy life of the people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Lavarrello’s admiration and reverence for Kim Il Sung grew stronger with the passage of time.

In the course of touring several places of the country, he had a better understanding of the DPRK where the Juche idea was being translated into reality. During the stay, he went on visits to different places in daytime and read Kim Il Sung ’s writings on the Juche idea at night.

The more he sympathized with the truth in the works, the newer he felt towards everything in the world.

Referring to the feelings he got when he met Kim Il Sung for the first time, he said:

“Frankly speaking, I came to admire Kim Il Sung primarily because I was fascinated by his Juche idea. What impressed me more strongly when I met him, however, was that he was rather a man of great humanity and ennobling personality, a charismatic figure for all people, and a close, kind-hearted friend and neighbour, than a great leader and a great thinker.”

Later, recalling the day when he met Kim Il Sung for the first time, the chairman said it was the day that marked one of the unforgettable events in his life and the realization of his greatest wish.

Afterwards, his admiration and reverence for the President grew stronger in the course of his Korea visits.

Kim Il Sung met Lavarrello again on his visit to Korea together with other personages of Peru in April Juche 75 (1986).

Although he was very busy, he gave a luncheon in honour of the guests. In the middle of a chat after the meal, he asked if he knew the abode of Checa’s wife.

Upon hearing that she lives in Peru, Kim Il Sung said: Checa was a brilliant internationalist fighter. In his lifetime, he did a lot of things for the development of the DPRK-Peru relations of friendship and cooperation, and for peace against war.

Then, he recollected the days when Checa’s wife and his children visited Korea, and asked to convey his best regards to them.

Lavarrello recalled Checa was, indeed, the best and old friend and comrade of his, as they had fought together sharing all sorts of trials. When Checa died, he had felt deep sorrow.

Later, completely attracted by Kim Il Sung ’s noble personality, he expressed his feelings in his writing “Glorious Times Led by the Great Mentor” as follows:

“President Kim Il Sung is such a kind of man admired and followed by all the people.

“He is endowed with such a noble personality and generosity that once they meet him, anyone, whether they are a head of state, a party leader, an ordinary scientist, a journalist or a worker, would hold him in respect and follow him with absolute confidence in him, transcending differences in political views, religious beliefs and ideological isms. They find themselves regarding him as a great man, a supreme incarnation of human love and a distinguished and outstanding leader.”