This was his life for four years. Shin’s avoidance of a summary execution was for one reason alone: Kim had plans. On March 6 1983 – their wedding anniversary – Kim engineered the reunion of the divorced couple at a government banquet. They were astonished, not only to see each other, but to be allowed to leave together afterwards. Thoughts quickly turned to escape, but with their constant fear of surveillance, this was easier said than done. Instead, they consented to Kim’s grand scheme, which was to revive the flagging fortunes of North Korean film production with a series of blockbusters.