Paek Nam-sun ( or ; March 13, 1929 – January 2, 2007) was the

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 Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1998 until his death. He was one of the few North Koreans to frequently be in the international spotlight.

Early life

Paek was born in

Kilju County Kilju, sometimes romanized as Kilchu, is a county in North Hamgyong province, North Korea. The county seat is Kilju Town. History The area around Kilju was part of the ancient Goguryeo kingdom and was long inhabited by various Jurchen tribes. I ...

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 ...

Education

Paek graduated from

Kim Il-sung University Kim Il-sung University, founded on 1 October 1946, is the first university built in North Korea. It is located on a campus in Pyongyang, the nation's capital. Along with the main academic buildings, the campus contains 10 separate offices, 50 l ...

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 ...

Career

In 1968, Paek became vice director of the International Affairs Department 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 ...

. Paek participated in the first round of North-South Red Cross talks in 1972. In 1974, Paek became the ambassador to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

until 1979. Paek also served on 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 ...

from 1990 until the time of his death, having been elected to the 9th, 10th, and 11th sessions.

Personal life

His third son Paek Ryong-Chon became the president of the

Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea The Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's central bank. Established on December 6, 1947, it issues the North Korean wŏn. The Bank is subordinated to the Cabinet of North Korea. Since 2021, the president of ...

in 2011.

Death

Paek died on 2 January 2007Jae-Soon Chang
"North Korea foreign minister dies at 78"
Associated Press (ABC News), January 3, 2007. in

. North Korean state media attributed the death to an undefined illness although it was said that he suffered from kidney disease. He was the only North Korean foreign minister to have met his American counterpart. Paek was ill for some time prior to his death and the role was filled by one of his deputies, most notably

Kim Kye-gwan Kim Kye-gwan (; born July 6, 1943) is a North Korean diplomat. His official position was First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (North Korea), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which he was promoted (from just Vice Minister) immedia ...

References and notes

*Yonhap News Agency. "Who's who, North Korea," pp. 787–812 in
PAEK, Nam-sun
International Who's Who. accessed September 1, 2006.

Al-Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...

, accessed January 3, 2007

External links

BBC death report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paek, Nam-sun 1929 births 2007 deaths People from Kilju County Workers' Party of Korea politicians Foreign ministers of North Korea Members of the Supreme People's Assembly North Korean diplomats Ambassadors of North Korea to Poland