Kim Ok
Kim Ok | |
|---|---|
 Kim Ok, cropped from a DoD image of a meeting with SECDEF William Cohen on 2000-10-11 | |
| Born | 1964 (age 61–62) |
| Occupation | entertainer, bureaucrat |
| Known for | Kim Jong-il's fifth and last long-term relationship |
Commentators speculate that Kim Ok was Kim Jong-il's fifth long-term relationship.[1]
Kim Ok was, initially, an entertainer, and would have met Kim Jong-il, in that capacity, when she was a member of the Wangjaesan Light Music Band, a trio.[1] According to North Korea Leadership Watch, when she was approximately 24, she started working in one of Kim Jong-il's residences, "in an office manager-type position." In 1987 commentators believe he was still in a relationship with his favourite concubine, Ko Yong-hui, and that Ko Yong-hui remained his favourite until her death in 2004.
According to North Korea Leadership Watch she was observed to act like North Korea's first lady in 2006, five years prior to Kim Jong-il's death.[1] During this period she also worked as a close aide, as dizziness and other health problems required more help.
The South China Morning Post reported she had married Kim Jong-il, in July 2006, noting that she was different from his earlier relationships, by not being young and beautiful.[2] It noted she had been described as "clever and wise", and, as merely "cute".
She was present when Kim Jong-il met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Chinese President Hu Jintao, in 2010, and to have traveled with him when he went to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.[1]
Commentators speculated whether she would remain an important figure in North Korea, after Kim Jong-il's death, once his son, Kim Jong-un assumed control of the regime.[3]
In July of 2013 the NK News reported that Kim Ok, and her father Kim Hyo, a senior official, had been purged.[4] NK News was careful to edge its report with caution, note how, due to heavy censorship of news from North Korea, the report might be unreliable.
In July 2017 Radio Free Asia reported "A Chinese businessman who visited Pyongyang recently told the radio station he heard from a senior Workers Party official that Kim Ok (52) had been sent off to a camp for political prisoners with her parents and siblings."[5] They reported that the purge took place approximately a year after Kim Jong-un's assumption of control.
rough work
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References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
"Kim Ok". North Korea Leadership Watch. 2012-02-15. Archived from the original on 2026-04-08. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
Kim Ok is a section chief, or department director, in the National Defense Commission [NDC] and is believed to be Kim Jong Il’s fifth common-law wife. She has worked as one of KJI’s subordinates since the late 1980s. According to some sources Kim Ok’s many years of service and daily access to KCI have established her as one of the regime’s hidden power players.
- ↑
Peter Kammerer (2006-07-28). "Down the aisle with Kim". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2025-12-06. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
I read on, but found that Kim Ok, 42, was nothing so exciting: she is his long-time private secretary. Worse, she is not drop-dead gorgeous like all his previous wives or girlfriends. Rather, as the South Korean government source who revealed the news observed, she was merely 'cute'. He even went so far as to refer to her as 'wise and clever'.
- ↑
Chung Min-uck (2011-12-19). "What is future for Kim Ok?". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2025-06-18. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
Kim is considered favorable to Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and heir-apparent, as she has been a long-time supporter for his leadership succession. Also the fact that her father Kim Hyo is still assuming a position as a vice finance minister in the regime supports some experts’ view that she will remain in power despite the death of the “dear leader.”
- ↑
Andrei Lankov (2013-07-04). "Did Kim Jong Un purge his father's widow, Kim Ok?". NK News. Archived from the original on 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
Kim Ok herself was, essentially, Kim Jong Il’s chief secretary – again, a position of great tactical but little strategic significance. Little is known about the political views of Kim Ok and her family, but at any rate their political influence – assuming it has ever existed – ended with the death of Kim Jong Il.
- ↑
Kim Myong-song (2016-07-27). "Kim Jong-il's Widow Sent to Prison Camp". The Chosun Ilbo. 조선일보. Archived from the original on 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
Former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's fourth wife Kim Ok was purged and sent to a prison camp less than a year after her stepson Kim Jong-un took power, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday.
- ↑ "Kim's long-time secretary is New Korean 'first lady'". South China Morning Post. 24 July 2006. Front page.
- ↑ "Kim Ok". North Korea Leadership Watch. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ↑ "Kim Jong-il's Widow Had Treatment in Berlin". The Chosun Ilbo. 10 September 2012.
- ↑ "North Korea awards 132 medals to commemorate Kim Jong-il's birthday". The Daily Telegraph. 14 February 2012.
- ↑ "김정일 넷째 부인 김옥 숙청…수용소로 보내져". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 26 July 2016.CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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