Kim Yong-sun
Kim Yong-sun | |
---|---|
Born |
1934 South Pyongan, Korea |
Died |
26 October 2003 (aged 68–69) Pyongyang, North Korea |
Occupation | Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland |
Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
Korean name | |
Chosŏn'gŭl | 김용순 |
Hancha | 金容淳 |
Revised Romanization | Gim Yongsun |
McCune–Reischauer | Kim 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 Don Oberdorfer, he was flamboyant and had been demoted in the mid-1980s for decadent behavior. However, his career had been saved because of his friendship with Kim Jong-il and his sister Kim Kyong-hui.[5]
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 2 3 4 5 Len, Samuel (2003-10-28), "Pyongyang official dies of crash injuries", The New York Times, retrieved 2010-06-08
- 1 2 "김위원장 "추석에 서울 다녀오라"", Kyunghyang Shinmun, 2000-09-13, retrieved 2010-06-08
- ↑ Bak, Hyeon-min (2008-11-18), "김정일 "김용순 안죽었으면 지금 한몫 할 것"", The Daily NK, retrieved 2010-06-08
- ↑ "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
- ↑ Oberdorfer, Don; Carlin, Robert (2014). The Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. Basic Books. pp. 185–186. ISBN 9780465031238.