Lee Hu-rak (23 February 1924 – October 31, 2009) was a South Korean politician, diplomat and the Director of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

from 1970 to 1973. In 1972, during his time as Director of the KCIA, he traveled to

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 populat ...

on a secret diplomatic mission and met

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 ...

. These were the first formal diplomatic contacts between

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and South Korea and led to the

July 4th North–South Korea Joint Statement July is the seventh month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the fourth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. It was named by the Roman Senate in honour of Roman general Julius Caesar in 44 B.C., it being the mont ...

. He was also elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

in 1979 but was prohibited from political activity in 1980 following corruption charges. Although the restriction was lifted in 1985, he stayed out of any further participation in politics up until his death in 2009.Ex-Spy Chief Lee Dies at 85
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References

1924 births 2009 deaths Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Directors of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency South Korean generals South Korean military attachés Ambassadors of South Korea to Japan Chiefs of Staff to the President of South Korea {{SouthKorea-bio-stub