U Tong-chuk or Woo Dong-cheuk (born August 8, 1942) 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 official. He was a

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

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 ...

. In addition, he was head of

State Security Department The Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 국가보위성) is the secret police agency of North Korea. It is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government repo ...

from 2009 to 2012. After February 2012, he disappeared from public after attending celebrations for late leader

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 ...

's birthday. According to official North Korean state media, U 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 ...

with a philosophy degree. He later served in a number of minor posts in 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 ...

of the

before being moved to a leading position in the Ministry of State Security (or State Security Department) in the 1990s. He was promoted to colonel-general,

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 ...

, and first vice-minister of State Security in 2009. This put him in charge of the ministry and gave him access to the country's top echelon, as the ministry was reportedly under Kim Jong-il directly, and he accompanied Kim Jong-il on a number of tours and official events, including a dinner with former US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. On 28 September 2010, the 3rd Party Conference elevated him to member of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission; the day before he had been promoted to general of 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 ...

. After Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011, U was seen accompanying the late leader's hearse and was reported having a role in purging the Ministry of State Security to ensure loyalty to

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 ...

. He has disappeared from public since February 2012 and his posts had been taken over by

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 ...

by April 2012. In July 2013, U Tong-chuk showed up along with other former officials at events marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

.Former Minister of People’s Security Ju Sang Song Appeared at War Anniversary Events
''North Korea Leadership Watch''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:U, Tong-Chuk 1942 births Living people People from South Pyongan Danyang U clan Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea