Jong Kyong-thaek (, born between 1 January 1961 and 31 December 1963) 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. He served as the Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the

Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) () is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which is responsible for coordinating the Party organizations within the ...

(WPK), an alternate member of the

Politburo of the WPK In North Korea, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), or simply the Politburo, formerly the Political Committee (1946–61), is the highest decision-making body in the ruling party between sessions ...

, and a member of the

State Affairs Commission of North Korea The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is defined by the 2016 constitution as "the supreme policy-oriented leadership body of State power." The current president of the SAC, which is defined by the same ...

Family background

Jong's father was

Jong Jun-thaek Jong Jun-thaek ( ko, 정준택, 1911 – January 11, 1973) was a North Korean politician and public official who served as Vice Premier of North Korea and member of the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's unicameral parliament. Biography F ...

, an intellectual at the core of North Korea's early industrialization efforts under Kim Il-sung and who served as the DPRK's Deputy Premier from 1956 to 1961. Chong headed national industrial planning between 1945 and 1950. He worked closely with Kim Il-sung, traveling with the leader to meet Stalin in Moscow in March 1949, and joining Kim's new Military Affairs Commission with the outbreak of the Korean War. After the war he headed North Korea's chemical industry. Jong Jun-thaek had an economics university named after him (Chong Jun Taek Kyongje Daehak) in Kangwon in 1960. He traveled to Syria and Sudan in 1972 on diplomatic missions, meeting President Assad. Chong died in 1973 when his son was 10 or 12 years old.

Career

Jong's appears to have made his career with the Korean People's Army. He first surfaced as a public figure in November 2015, when he was listed on the funeral committee for

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (리을설; 14 September 19217 November 2015) was a North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, achieving the rank of Marshal of the Korean People's ...

, the Korean People's Army General and elder Manchurian guerrilla veteran. In early 2017,

Kim Won-hong Kim Won-hong (; born 17 July 1945) is a North Korean politician and military general. Early life and education Kim was born in what is now North Korea's North Hwanghae Province. He graduated from the Workers' Party of Korea's Kim Il-sung Higher ...

was removed from the role of Minister of State Security (also known as the Director of the State Security Department, SSD). Won-hong had apparently been punished following a party inspection. The appointment of Jong Kyong-thaek as Minister came at the same time as

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding ...

was appointed director of the

Organization and Guidance Department The Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. Its central responsibility is to implement the directives and teachings of the ''Suryeo ...

(OGD) which works closely with the SSD. According to ''

North Korea Leadership Watch North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

'', "Choe's appointment along with the appointment of Jong Kyong Thaek at State Security are no accident... Choe and Jong's new positions represent a kind of house cleaning to avoid some of the problems that have affected State Security during the last 18 months. Choe and Jong's appointments are also intended to usher in 3rd generation DPRK cadres in the internal security services." In this capacity, Jong directs both censorship and counter-intelligence. For instance, during

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

's trip to the

2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, commonly known as the Singapore Summit, was a summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore, on ...

, Jong "supervised the collection, consolidation and analysis of myriad intelligence reports from around the

DPRK North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

derived from eavesdropping and SSD's pyramid-like human intelligence networks. Col. Gen. Jong probably supervised the mobilization of additional electronic capabilities and personnel to monitor the DPRK's defense industry." Since October 2017, Jong has been a member of the

(WPK) and an alternate member of the

. At the sixth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly on 11 April 2018, Jong also took Kim Won-hong's seat in the

. Jong's military rank is

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 ...

. He resides in

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 ...

. On 10 December 2018, the

Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy ob ...

of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

imposed sanctions on Jong and two other top North Korean leaders, citing abuses and Jong's role in the

government of North Korea In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but all br ...

and the WPK, a step criticized by the ''Rodong Sinmun.'' On 22 March 2021, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

imposed a set of restrictive measures against Kyong-thaek giving the reason for listing: "As Head of the Ministry of State Security, Jong Kyong-thaek is responsible for serious human rights violations in the DPRK, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearance of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread forced labour and sexual violence against women." Jong was part of a high-level welcoming delegation for

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important political figure in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), often hol ...

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

and his wife

Peng Liyuan Peng Liyuan (; born 20 November 1962) is a Chinese soprano and contemporary folk singer and the spouse of Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People's Republic of China. Peng gained populari ...

, greeting them both at the

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (), formerly the Kumsusan Memorial Palace (), is a building near the northeast corner of the city of Pyongyang that serves as the mausoleum for Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, and for his son Kim Jong-il, bo ...

square and attending an artistic performance with them in Pyongyang on 20 June 2019. Jong was promoted to the rank of general on 23 May 2020. On 30 September 2020, he was reported to be demoted to Colonel General. Now he is director of the

KPA General Political Bureau The General Political Bureau (GPB) is the internal politburo of the Korean People's Army (KPA), used by the leadership of the North Korean government to exert political control over the military. The GPB is subordinate to the Ministry of Defence ...

Awards and honors

The official portrait of Jong shows him wearing the ribbons of all decorations awarded to him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Kyong-thaek Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 1960s births People from Chagang North Korean generals Members of the 8th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea

Family background

Career

Awards and honors

See also

References