Megawati Attends the 60th Anniversary of Kim Il Sung's Visit
Bogor, APRCFSKP. The 60th anniversary of President Kim Il Sung’s visit to Indonesia was held at Griya Taman Anggrek, Bogor Botanical Gardens, Thursday, April 17, 2025, from 12.00 to 14.00 WIB. The event was attended by no less than 100 participants including the North Korean community in Indonesia.
The guest of honor at this event was the former President of Indonesia who is also the General Chairperson of the PDI Perjuangan Megawati Soekarnoputri. She was accompanied by her son who is also one of the Chairpersons of the PDI Perjuangan,Prananda Prabowo, along with the Chairperson of the PDI-P Faction in the MPR RI Ahmad Basarah.
A number of other PDI-P administrators who also accompanied Megawati included I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Eriko Sotarduga, Jacob Soetoyo, and Hanjaya Setiawan.
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Special Advisor to the Director General for Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, Dino R. Kusnadi, who was accompanied by the Indonesian Chargé d’Affaires Ad Interim for North Korea, Riza Wardhana, Pangky Saputra, and several staff from the Directorate of East Asia, were present.
Other VIP guests were the Deputy Chairman of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Amarulla Octavian, Chairman of the Indonesia-North Korea Friendship Association Teguh Santosa, and Director of the Indonesian Juche Study Group Teuku Rezasyah.
The event was opened with remarks from the Chargé D’affaires Ad Interim of North Korea, So Kwang Yun, who expressed his gratitude for Megawati's willingness to attend this activity.
Kim Il Sung visited Indonesia on April 10-20, 1965, in addition to attending the commemoration of a decade of the Asia Africa Conference (KAA), the visit of Kim Il Sung who was accompanied by Kim Jong Il was also a return visit after Bung Karno visited Pyongyang a year earlier.
“The friendly relations between the two countries that were established by President Kim Il Sung and President Sukarno, were continued and developed to a higher level by the Great Leader Kim Jong Il and Mrs. Megawati Sukarnoputri,” he said.
Megawati visited Pyongyang and met with Kim Jong Il in 2002 when she served as the 5th president. In 2005, Megawati returned to Pyongyang.
“This relationship will be further strengthened and developed with the Kimilsungia flower as an eternal symbol of the friendly relations between the two countries,” said So Kwang Yun.
Meanwhile, Dino R. Kusnadi said that North Korea is one of Indonesia’s closest friends in the region. The Kimilsungia orchid given by President Sukarno to Kim Il Sung is the embodiment and symbol of the eternal friendship between the two countries.
“I believe our celebration today serves as an important reminder that there is still much more that we can achieve together so that Indonesia-DPRK can develop like the Kimilsungia orchid,” said the former Deputy Indonesian Ambassador to China.
Meanwhile, Amarulla Octavian conveyed BRIN’s plan to build a kind of “diplomatic garden” to care for and develop valuable flower collections such as Kimilsungia. He said, it is not impossible that there will be Kimilsungia competitions both nationally and internationally.
Witness to History
Megawati, who was the key and final speaker, recalled Kim Il Sung's visit in 1965. At that time, President Sukarno gave him the special task of garlanding flowers to Kim Il Sung at the State Palace.
“I stand before you all, not only as the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia or General Chair of the PDI Perjuangan, but also as a child who is a witness to history, a daughter of President Sukarno, who has seen up close how great history is woven by the hands of leaders who have farsightedness,” said Mega, opening her remarks.
“Chairman Kim is not just a state guest, he is our brother in arms. Welcome him like family,” said Mega, imitating Bung Karno’s words at that time.
Mega said that Kim Il Sung’s visit was not just a diplomatic ceremony, but was full of meaning of solidarity, joint struggle, emotion, and geopolitics.
“President Soekarno and Chairman Kim Il Sung had a very deep closeness, not only as leaders of the country, but as comrades in the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, and neocolonialism,” Mega said.
As for Kimilsungia, Mega continued, it was not just a flower.
“It is a symbol. It is a story. It is a symbol of sincere respect between nations. Bung Karno called it a flower of friendship that will never wither. Today, six decades later, we prove the truth of those words,” said Megawati.
After Mega’s speech, the next event was to watch a documentary screening of Kim Il Sung’s visit produced by North Korea.
In the film, in addition to the festive welcome and the significance of Kim Il Sung’s visit, it can also be seen how Indonesia as a country that was only 25 years old at that time could become one of the key players in the international arena.
Before lunch, Megawati accompanied by So Kwang Yun went around the room to see the photos exhibited at the location of the activity. 
