Kim Jong-suk (Korean: 김정숙; born 1930) is a North Korean government official. She was the chairwoman of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, as well as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Minju Joson. She has also been elected as a delegate for every Supreme People's Assembly since 1986. She is a cousin of Kim Il Sung, who was the first Supreme Leader and founder of North Korea.

Kim Jong-suk
Born1930 (age 9596)
Political party
Workers' Party of Korea
Spouse
(died 1991)
RelativesKim Il Sung (cousin)
AwardsOrder of Kim Il Sung (1992), Order of Kim Jong Il (2012)
Korean name
Hangul
김정숙
Hanja
金貞淑
[1]
RRGim Jeongsuk
MRKim Chŏngsuk

Life

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Kim Jong-suk was born in 1930 in Taedong County, Heian'nan Province, Korea, Empire of Japan.[2][1] Since Kim is a cousin of Kim Il Sung and North Korean citizens are unable to share their names with the Kim Dynasty, Kim is the only North Korean named Kim Jong-suk.[1][3] She was married to Ho Dam—who was a close associate of Kim Jong Il[3]—until his death in 1991.[4]

Kim has served as the chairwoman and vice chairwoman of multiple committees related to North Korea's foreign relations since 1965, including the North–Latin American Friendship Association (조선-라틴아메리카 친선협회), the North–Cuba Solidarity Committee (조선-쿠바 연대성위원회), the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries,[5][6] and the North–Finland Friendship Association (조선-핀란드 친선협회). She has been a delegate to every Supreme People's Assembly since the 7th one, and became the president and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Minju Joson in March 1986.[2][1] A candidate for the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea,[2][1] Kim was elected to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (최고인민회의 외교위원회 위원) in December 1993,[1] but the committee was abolished five years later.[7]

After being appointed chairwoman of the Choson Foreign Cultural Liaison Committee (조선대외문화연락위원회) in December 2009,[1][8] Kim attended multiple funeral committees and memorials, such as Jo Myong-rok's National Funeral Committee (고 조명록의 국가장의위원회),[9] as well as the Kim Jong Il State Funeral Committee,[10] the North Korea Preparatory Committee commemorating the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung (김일성 생일 100주년 기념 조선준비위원회),[1] and the North Korean side's preparatory committee for the 2017 Paektu Mountain Great Figures Celebration (Japanese: 2017白頭山偉人称賛大会), which was held in honor of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.[11] During the 5th session of the 13th Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, she was elected as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which had been revived after 19 years under the belief that it would improve North Korea's bilateral relations.[7][12] Kim was re-elected as a delegate in the 2019 North Korean parliamentary election,[13] but she was replaced as chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries by Xu Huyuan, who attended a meeting on 22 December 2021 between Choe Ryong-hae and Chinese diplomat Li Jinjun.[14]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "김정숙" [Kim Jong-suk]. Ministry of Unification (in Korean). Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 北韓總覽 [Overview of North Korea] (in Korean). Institute of North Korean Studies. 2003. p. 1216.
  3. 1 2 Ju, Song-ha. "광고, 취재, 경쟁이 없는 북한신문" [A North Korean newspaper without advertising, coverage, or competition]. Media Literacy (in Korean). Archived from the original on 21 October 2017.
  4. "Index Ho-Hy". Rulers. Retrieved 27 June 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Science Book Fair Opens". North Korea Leadership Watch. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  6. Haggard, Stephan (27 April 2017). "North Korean Signals: The Diplomatic Commission". Peterson Institute for International Economics. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  7. 1 2 "北朝鮮で最高人民会議開催...19年ぶりに外交委員会が復活" [Supreme People's Assembly Convenes in North Korea; Foreign Affairs Committee Revived After 19 Years]. Daily NK (in Japanese). 12 April 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "北朝鮮、対外文化連絡委員長に金貞淑氏を任命" [North Korea appoints Kim Jong-suk as head of international cultural liaison committee] (in Japanese). 19 February 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  9. "고 조명록의 국가장의위원회 구성" [Formation of the State Funeral Committee for the Late Jo Myong-rok] (in Korean). KCNA. 6 November 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
  10. "National Funeral Committee Formed". Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  11. "北朝鮮「2017白頭山偉人称賛大会」開催]" [North Korea Holds "2017 Rally to Praise the Great Figures of Mt. Paektu"]. Daily NK (in Japanese). 16 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "常任委員長に崔龍海、首相に金才龍氏...北朝鮮で最高人民会議" [Choe Ryong-hae Named Presidium Chairman, Kim Jae-ryong Premier... North Korea Holds Supreme People's Assembly]. Daily NK (in Japanese). 12 April 2019.
  13. "북 김정은, 최고인민회의 대의원 처음 빠져" [North Korea's Kim Jong-un Excluded from Supreme People's Assembly for the First Time]. Tong Il News (in Korean). 12 March 2019.
  14. "崔龍海氏、離任の中国大使に金正恩氏の言葉を伝達" [Choe Ryong-hae conveys Kim Jong-un's message to outgoing Chinese ambassador]. Daily NK (in Japanese). pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2026.