Getting the Facts Straight about 'The Dear Leader'

Hein Latt

Question: Is it true that your book about Kim Jong Il has been seized? How did it happen?

Answer: Yes, it is true. Apart from my mother tongue, Burmese, the only foreign language I know is English. I therefore drew some of my information from two books about [Kim Jong Il] published in the US. In fact, I referred to other books, too. But the North Korean Embassy claimed that some facts in the two books I used as sources were not correct.

Q: Which books did you use?

A: These two books were last published in 2009. I don't know if the findings in them are correct, but I thought they were atypical, so I translated them. I also used books published by the North Korean Embassy. I used facts from every book I read. However, the North Koreans claimed that some facts in the American books were wrong, which I really didn't know. All I did was copy the facts and that was the problem.

Q: Did you publish the book with official permission?

A: Yes, it was published under the government's permission.

Q: How did the North Korean Embassy find out about the book before they objected to you directly?

A: They found out about the book two months after it was published. I believe Burmese employees at the North Korean Embassy informed the embassy officials. I heard they were told to translate some of the contents of my book into English. For example, they claimed that the table of the North Korean People's Army structure was wrong. The table, which I took from the American books, shows how many generals are in position, but the books from the North Korean Embassy don't disclose such top secret information. I, as a writer, couldn't tell what information was correct, so I just referred to what the books said. Readers like books with a lot of facts. The rest of the content was positive about Kim Jong Il. I intentionally avoided bad things about him. When they asked me which books I used as references, I showed them books published in New York. Then they said such misinformation should not be provided to readers and asked me to hand over all undistributed books. I just did as they said to avoid any problems. Let it be. I didn't know what would happen if I resisted. In fact, I lost financially.
 
Q: Who objected to your book—Burma's censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), or the North Korean Embassy? Did they summon you or contact you via phone or letter? Did you try to collect facts from the North Korean Embassy before you published the book?

A: I was summoned to the embassy. I did take some books I needed from them. When I wrote, I used both left- and right-wing ideology, which is our way of writing. I couldn't just rely on their books, which were so heavy with facts, including lists of births and deaths. I have written about 25 biographies of world leaders, including Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. I don't speak Chinese or Persian, so I had to rely on books published in English. This is my right. Chinese are very clear on this matter. They don’t' support or oppose you.

Q: We heard that they took the books off the shelves of the bookstores and burned them in front of you. Is that true?

A: I have given them all the copies I have left. I don't think they will seize the books from the stores because they have to pay for them, which they are reluctant to do.