Kim Yong-sun

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For the South Korean singer Kim Yong-sun, see Solar (singer).
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
Kim Yong-sun
Kim Yong-sun.jpg
Born5 July 1934
South Pyongan, Korea
Died26 October 2003 (aged 68–69)
Pyongyang, North Korea
OccupationVice-Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
김용순
Hancha
金容淳
Revised RomanizationGim Yongsun
McCune–ReischauerKim Yongsun

Kim Yong-sun (1934 – 26 October 2003) was a North Korean politician. At the time of his death, he was vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. He was reported to have been killed in a car accident.[1] He also held a position as a secretary (subordinate to the general secretary) of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).[2]

Career[]

Kim was born in 1934 in South Pyongan, when the Korean Peninsula was still under Japanese rule.[1][3] He was elevated to the WPK's Central Committee in October 1980.[4] He was a recipient of the Kim Il-sung Order, the highest decoration of the North Korean government.[1]

According to author Bradley K. Martin, Kim was interned in a 're-education camp' for three years from 1979 because he had an affair with a female colleague.[5] According to author Don Oberdorfer, he was flamboyant and was demoted in the mid-1980s for decadent behavior. However, his career was saved because of his friendship with Kim Jong-il and his sister Kim Kyong-hui.[6]

Kim played an instrumental role in the planning of the first Inter-Korean summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il in June 2000.[1] He came to the South in September that year as part of an official Northern delegation, and inspected POSCO facilities in Pohang; he was the first secretary of the WPK to take an inspection tour in the South since Ho Dam in 1985.[2] After reportedly being involved in a car accident in June 2003, he was hospitalised, and succumbed to his injuries on 23 October 2003.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Len, Samuel (2003-10-28), "Pyongyang official dies of crash injuries", The New York Times, retrieved 2010-06-08
  2. ^ a b "김위원장 "추석에 서울 다녀오라"", Kyunghyang Shinmun, 2000-09-13, retrieved 2010-06-08
  3. ^ Bak, Hyeon-min (2008-11-18), "김정일 "김용순 안죽었으면 지금 한몫 할 것"", The Daily NK, retrieved 2010-06-08
  4. ^ "북한 김정일 위원장 '김용순 살아있었으면...'/Kim Jong-il: 'If Kim Yong-sun had not died ...'", Seoul Broadcasting System, 2008-11-17, retrieved 2010-06-08
  5. ^ Martin, Bradley K. (2004). Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty. New York, New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 201. ISBN 0-312-32322-0.
  6. ^ Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9780465031238.
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