Ju Sang-song (born August 1933) is a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n politician and former Minister of People's Security.

Biography

Ju Sang-song was born in Kangwon-do Province in 1933, joined the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

in June 1951, and later attended the

Kim Il-sung Military University Kim Il-sung Military University (also known as Kim Il-sung Military Academy) is a university located in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, capital of North Korea. Founded in 1948 and named after Kim Il-sung, the school is a post-secondary educational ...

. During his career, he served as senior operations staff officer of an army corps, brigade commander, divisional commander, chief of staff of regional headquarters, commander of an army corps and inspector of the General Staff."Profiles of Presidium and Members of Political Bureau"
KCNA, 29 September 2010. In 1970 he was elected alternate member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

at the 5th Party Congress, and he was first elected deputy to the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

in 1990. He served as chairman of the SPA Legislation Committee. On December 24, 1991 he was promoted to full member of the WPK Central Committee, during the same meeting (the 19th Plenary Meeting of the 6th Central Committee) that appointed

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

as the new

Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국무력 최고사령관) is the commander-in-chief of the Korean People's Army, the military of North Korea. The office ...

. The 1990s saw an increase of his importance: in 1992 he was promoted to

colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

and served in

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's funeral committee in 1994. In February 1997 he was appointed

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, right on Kim Jong-il's 55th birthday, and received command of the IV Army Corps in

South Hwanghae Province South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital i ...

. In late 2003, Ju was recalled to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

and replaced Choe Yong-su as Minister of Public Security in 2004. He was also elected a

member of the National Defence Commission List of members of the National Defence Commission may refer to: * Members of the 5th National Defence Commission, elected by the 1st Session of the 5th Supreme People's Assembly in 1972. * Members of the 6th National Defence Commission, elected by ...

in 2009, as part of a plan to expand the Commission membership."Gen. Chu Sang-song"
North Korea Leadership Watch. In the spring of 2010, the Ministry of Public Security was put directly under the

National Defence Commission The National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (NDC) () was the highest state institution for military and national defence leadership in North Korea, which also served as the highest governing institution of the cou ...

and renamed Ministry of People's Security, with full responsibility over the Korean People's Internal Security Force. Ju Sang-song was confirmed its minister, although he was now under NDC Vice-Chairman

Chang Sung-taek Jang Song-thaek (January or February 1946 – 12 December 2013) was a leading figure in the government of North Korea. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean Premier Kim Il-sung and his first wife Kim Jong-suk, and on ...

. His status was furtherly enhanced at the September 2010 Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea, as he was re-elected Central Committee member and promoted to Politburo member. Ju Sang-song's last public appearance was during a performance of the Korean People's Internal Security Forces Song and Dance Ensemble honouring Kim Jong-il's 69th birthday in February, 2011. He was officially dismissed on March 16 by decision of the NDC, with the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onlin ...

reporting: "Ju Sang Song, minister of People’s Security of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, was dismissed from his post due to illness".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ju, Sang-song North Korean military personnel 1933 births Living people People from Kangwon Province (North Korea) Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Government ministers of North Korea Members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Alternate members of the 5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Alternate members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea