evidence: The North Koreans were fortunate to have a number of advocates across the Soviet leadership. In May 1947, Marshal Kirill Meretskov (chief of the Soviet Civil Administration) and Terentii Shtykov (head of delegation to the Soviet-American Joint Commission on Korea) explained the dire state of infrastructure and industry in northern Korea in a direct plea to Stalin. According to Meretskov and Shtykov, all Japanese engineers had recently left northern Korea, putting the territory north of the 38th parallel "in an extremely difficult position." Production plans were already faltering. [...] As the peninsula inched closer to war, North Korea’s need for Soviet aid, technical expertise, and products grew exponentially. [...] The North Korea International Documentation Project serves as an informational clearinghouse on North Korea for the scholarly and policymaking communities, disseminating documents on the DPRK from its former communist allies that provide valuable insight into the actions and nature of the North Korean state. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. Read more