Kim Yong-sun (1934 – 26 October 2003) was a North Korean politician. At the time of his death, he was vice-chairman of the

Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) is a North Korean state agency aimed at promoting Korean reunification. Overview The CPRK was not a governmental body per se but rather an offshoot of the Korean Workers' Party's Unit ...

. He was reported to have been killed in a car accident. He also held a position as a secretary (subordinate to the

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

) 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 ...

(WPK).

Career

Kim was born in 1934 in South Pyongan, when the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

was still under Japanese rule. He was elevated to the WPK's Central Committee in October 1980. He was a recipient of the

Kim Il-sung Order The Order of Kim Il Sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong Il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il Sung, was instituted in ...

, the highest decoration of the North Korean government. According to author Bradley K. Martin, Kim was interned in a 're-education camp' for three years from 1979 because he had an affair with a female colleague. According to author

Don Oberdorfer Donald Oberdorfer Jr. (May 28, 1931 – July 23, 2015) was an American professor at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University with a specialty in Korea, and was a journalist for 38 years, 25 of t ...

, he was flamboyant and was demoted in the mid-1980s for decadent behavior. However, his career was saved because of his friendship with

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 ...

and his sister Kim Kyong-hui. In 1992, he visited

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to prepare for North Korea's accession to the United Nations and held the highest-level US-DPRK diplomatic meetings to that time with

Arnold Kanter Arnold Lee Kanter (February 27, 1945 – April 10, 2010) was an American businessman who served as acting United States Secretary of State following the resignation of the previous United States Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger at midnigh ...

Richard Solomon Richard Solomon may refer to: * Richard Solomon (psychologist) (1918–1995), American psychologist * Richard Solomon (barrister) Sir Richard Solomon, (18 October 1850 – 10 November 1913) was a South African attorney and legislator. He was a ...

, Douglas Paal, and

James Lilley James Roderick Lilley (; January 15, 1928 – November 12, 2009) was a CIA operative and an American diplomat. He served as United States ambassador to China from 1989 to 1991. Born to American parents in China, Lilley learned Mandarin at a you ...

of the U.S. State Department. Kim played an instrumental role in the planning of the first Inter-Korean summit between

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

and

in June 2000. He came to the South in September that year as part of an official Northern delegation, and inspected

POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel-making company headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the world's fourth-largest steelmaker by this measure. In 2010, i ...

facilities in

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...

; he was the first secretary of the WPK to take an inspection tour in the South since

Ho Dam Ho Dam (March 6, 1929 – May 11, 1991) was a North Korean politician, and Foreign Minister from 1970 to 1983. Ho was a member of the ruling Politburo of North Korea's Communist Party, was also chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunific ...

in 1985. After reportedly being involved in a car accident in June 2003, he was hospitalised, and succumbed to his injuries on 23 October 2003.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yong-sun 1934 births 2003 deaths Road incident deaths in North Korea Workers' Party of Korea politicians Recipients of the Order of Kim Il Sung People from South Pyongan