I know the diplomat likes Kim Jong Il and my friend from the DPRK liked them all ,though He does seem like the most controversial person of the three

Kim Il Sung being the most popular

Here’s the thing when I asked them on how they view Mao Zedong ,they told me that he had fights with him as well as Khrushchev over de stanlization which Kim Il Sung opposed ,when I told them that people in most of the world view Mao as someone who opposed de stanlization ,this is what they said

I’ll give you it from the beginning

“Hello and thank you for your question.

In the 1950's Mao Zedong and Nikita Khrushchev came to odds with President Kim Il Sung over De-Stalinization. Mao Zedong made veiled threats of ousting President Kim Il Sung over the issue and that soured the DPRK-Chinese relationship.”

I replied “ That’s what makes me wonder , from what I know the DPRK sees Stalin as a great leader right? ,I might be wrong and that’s how Mao saw it which is why I don’t get what his problem was with the DPRK

As for Khrushchev ,didn’t he also have problems with the DPRK ?

So what did the DPRK do when it came to “De-Stalinzation” ,did it refuse de stanlization or did it accept it ??

That’s my question”

He replied

“Yes. That is correct Stalin is seen as a great leader in the DPRK.

Chinese and Soviet agents together attempted to overthrow President Kim Il Sung over ideological disagreements stemming from the President’s rejection of de-Stalinzation. President Kim Il Sung was opposed to this sudden shift in ideology and did not follow the Soviet line.

The event is called the Second Arduous March which occurred in 1956 if you wish to learn more about the specifics which occurred.”

I replied “ What I don’t understand is that in the west and in the world in general ,Mao was seen as someone who rejected de-Stalinization ,so why and what was his disagreement with President Kim Il Sung over ?

Did Mao at the time accept De Stalinization ?”

He replied and gave an extremely interesting answer

“While Mao Zedong and China was opposed to de stalinization they did not want to fully split from the USSR and enter hostile relations. The attempted removal of President Kim Il Sung was an opportunity for Mao Zedong to demonstrate he was not in favor of abandoning relations with the USSR.”

He continued later “In reference to your previous question the DPRK, being a nation in a constant struggle for survival maintained a straight course in keeping relations with its neighbors, however DPRK policy would react to whichever the USSR or China seemed more likely to fight for Korean independence if necessary.

However border disputes in the late 60’s deeply soured DPRK-China relations for the coming years.”

So tbh I don’t wanna hear any more conversations on who was wrong in the sino Soviet split ,if this is true it’s clear it was absolutely the USSR’s and mainly Khrushchev’s fault, the sad thing is Brezhnev did try to fix relations with Mao ,but Mao was of the deep end at that point in his life

He still hasn’t answered your question btw ,this is just me saying what I have been told from him and my other friend