Kim Young-sook (; born 1947) was the second wife of

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 ...

. She was the daughter of a high-ranking military official, and was a

switchboard operator In the early days of telephony, companies used manual telephone switchboards, and switchboard operators connected calls by inserting a pair of phone plugs into the appropriate jacks. They were gradually phased out and replaced by automated system ...

North Hamgyong Province North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, S ...

before moving to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il's father,

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 ...

, handpicked her to marry his son. The two had been estranged for some years before his death. Kim Young-sook had a daughter from this marriage,

Kim Sol-song Kim Sol-song (; born 30 December 1974) is the daughter of North Korea's former leader Kim Jong-il and Kim Young-sook. She has been active within the propaganda department, been in charge of literary affairs, and previously led the security and ...

(born 1974).

Song Hye-rang Seong Hye-rang (born 1935) is a North Korean defector and author. Early life Her father was a wealthy South Korean landowner who moved to the North for political reasons, while her mother was an editor of the official North Korean newspaper '' R ...

, the sister of Kim Jong-il's first mistress

Song Hye-rim Song Hye-rim (; 24 January 1937 18 May 2002) was a North Korean actress, best known for being the one-time favored mistress of Kim Jong-il. Early life and education Song was born in Changnyeong when Korea was under Imperial Japanese rule. Sh ...

, mentioned that she is "insignificant to Kim Jong-il, apart from being a legitimate wife in front of

. She did not even have an identity card in North Korea" as noted in her memoir ''Rattan house''.

References

Living people People from Pyongyang 1947 births Kim dynasty (North Korea) Switchboard operators {{NorthKorea-bio-stub