Kim Jong-un, happy birthday from… Razzi: “He's a good guy”

''I personally met Kim Jong-un in 2013, in Pyongyang, on the occasion of the inauguration of the War museum. I spoke to him and shook his hand, I still have the photo… I really liked it and I immediately said to myself: this one will really make a change…''. Antonio Razzi sends best wishes to Kim Jong-un on the day of his alleged 40th birthday. Reached by phone in Spain for a comment on the 40th birthday of the leader of North Korea, the former Forza Italia senator tells Adnkronos about the time he shook hands with Kim after giving him a sun carved in wood, the work of the sculptor Ferdinando Codognotto, with a workshop-workshop in Rome, in via dei Pianellari, near piazza Navona.

Razzi currently considers himself one of the most popular Westerners in North Korea with whom he has always had a close bond, which began in 2007, when he joined the UIP, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and began traveling abroad.

The former 'manager', who saved Berlusconi quater thanks to his move (together with Domenico Scilipoti) from Italia dei Valori to the centre-right in December 2010, has no doubts: ''Since Kim Jong-un has been at the helm I have seen a huge change, for the better. In North Korea they built many houses for the workers. I didn't expect it, I'm very happy with him, I can't say anything to him, I can only compliment him, because the change is there and you can see it… I found him very open, you can see he has done the 'university in Bern: it has assimilated Western culture, our European culture''.

Razzi sends the 'shot' that immortalises the handshake with Kim Jong-un via WhatsApp and recounts the details of that face-to-face meeting: ''When I met him, I spoke to him in German and he stayed there, not if was waiting for her. Since in North Korea they are sun lovers, I gave him a carved wooden sun that I had bought from the artist Codegnotto. He was very kind to me, he seemed very satisfied… ''.

The following year Razzi returned to Pyongyang but this time there was no meeting. ''I saw it from above: I was in the stands at the Primo Maggio stadium, one of the largest in the world, to watch the Youth Conference. Kim Jong-un was smiling and cheerful among the young people. He also made an excellent impression on me in this case. And I told the interpreter in Neapolitan dialect – reveals Razzi – this really seems like 'a good guy…'' to me.