During the conversation, he asked them if there was anyone who came from Hyogo Prefecture.

A teacher answered that a student came from the prefecture.

Kim Jong Il asked again what damage the student's family suffered in the 1995 great Hanshin earthquake.

He lost his mother, the teacher answered.

The leader asked the student about his name, age and his family circumstances.

The student barely managed to answer to his questions, sorrow welling up within him.

Feeling sorry about his grief, Kim Jong Il told the student in a tearful voice that though he lost his mother, he would never be alone under the care of the Workers' Party of Korea and the fatherland.

The student burst into tears, deeply affected by his kind words of consolation.