Kim Song-hye
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Kim Song-hye (, born 17 July 1965) is a North Korean politician. As the head of the Secretarial Bureau of the
Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK; ) was a North Korean state agency aimed at promoting Korean reunification. The committee was tasked with relations with South Korea, which could not be handled through official chann ...
(CPRK), she has taken part in numerous negotiations between North and South Korea. She has participated in talks at the 2000 inter-Korean summit, the 15th and 16th North–South Ministerial Talks in 2005, the
2007 inter-Korean summit The 2007 Inter-Korean summit meeting was held between October 2 and October 4, 2007, in Pyongyang, between President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea and Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is the second Inter- ...
, and most notably the inter-Korean working level talks of 2013 where she headed the North Korean delegation. Kim has hosted many South Korean dignitaries visiting the North, including the future
President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...
in 2002, the former
First Lady of South Korea The first lady of the Republic of Korea (), commonly known as the first lady of South Korea, is the title held by the hostess of the Presidential Residence of South Korea, presidential residence, usually the wife of the president of South Korea ...
Lee Hee-ho Lee Hee-ho, sometimes spelled as Lee Hui-ho, (; 21 September 1922 – 10 June 2019), was a South Korean women's rights activist, peace advocate and former First Lady of South Korea during the presidency of her husband Kim Dae-jung from 1998 to ...
in 2011, and the
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...
in 2012. It is highly unusual for a woman to be tasked with an important area of foreign policy in North Korea. Consequentially, Kim has been called the "female hard worker for South Korean affairs". Her feminine clothing has stood out in the otherwise largely male North Korean delegations and attracted media attention. Kim's prominent role as a negotiator has been explained as a gesture of friendliness from the
North Korean government North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
as well as a way to match the presidency of Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president.


Early life

Kim Song-hye was born on 17 July 1965 in
South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its capital is Pyo ...
. Described as "very smart", she is possibly a graduate of
Kim Il Sung University Kim Il Sung University () is a public university in Taesong, Pyongyang, North Korea. It was founded on 1 October 1946 and was the first tertiary education institution established in post-war North Korea. The 15-hectare campus, along with the m ...
, although "her accurate academic background has yet to be known".


Career

Kim was the head of the Secretarial Bureau of the
Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK; ) was a North Korean state agency aimed at promoting Korean reunification. The committee was tasked with relations with South Korea, which could not be handled through official chann ...
(CPRK), a
front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...
of the ruling
Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...
(WPK) for handling inter-Korean affairs and the reunification question. She also has a post in the party's
Propaganda and Agitation Department The Propaganda and Agitation Department (PAD, ), officially translated as the Publicity and Information Department, is a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) tasked with coordinating the creation and dissemina ...
. Her position is equivalent to that of South Korea's Minister of Unification. Kim was part of the North's delegation negotiating the
June 15th North–South Joint Declaration __NOTOC__ The June 15th North–South Joint Declaration was adopted between leaders of North Korea and South Korea in June 2000 after various diplomatic meetings between the North and South. As a result of the talks, numerous separated families ...
at the 2000 inter-Korean summit. In 2005, she took part in the 15th North–South Ministerial Talks in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
as one of three female delegates, the first ever dispatched to cabinet-level talks by North Korea. In total, Kim has visited the South Korean capital Seoul more than 10 times. Kim was also present at the 16th installment of the ministerial talks held in
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
. Likewise, she interacted with the South Korean delegation at the
2007 inter-Korean summit The 2007 Inter-Korean summit meeting was held between October 2 and October 4, 2007, in Pyongyang, between President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea and Kim Jong Il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It is the second Inter- ...
there. Kim hosted
Lee Hee-ho Lee Hee-ho, sometimes spelled as Lee Hui-ho, (; 21 September 1922 – 10 June 2019), was a South Korean women's rights activist, peace advocate and former First Lady of South Korea during the presidency of her husband Kim Dae-jung from 1998 to ...
, the former
First Lady of South Korea The first lady of the Republic of Korea (), commonly known as the first lady of South Korea, is the title held by the hostess of the Presidential Residence of South Korea, presidential residence, usually the wife of the president of South Korea ...
, during her visit to Pyongyang for the state funeral of Kim Jong Il in December 2011. The following year she received the
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO) is a South Korean orchestra based in Seoul. Founded in 1945, it is one of the oldest orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia ...
on their visit. In 2013, she headed the North Korean delegation of inter-Korean working level talks at the
Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
in the
Joint Security Area The Joint Security Area (JSA, often referred to as the Truce Village or Panmunjom) is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North Korea, North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. The JSA is used by the two Koreas ...
. It is rare for a North Korean female to work in the field of inter-Korean relations. Consequentially, Kim has been given the nickname "female hard worker for South Korean affairs". During the North–South Ministerial Talks in 2005 for instance, she attracted media attention by standing out from the conservatively dressed mostly male delegation with her white two-piece suit. When the South Korean Minister of Unification
Chung Dong-young Chung Dong-young (; born 27 July 1953) is a South Korean politician who was the nominee of the United New Democratic Party in the 2007 South Korean presidential election. In June 2025, Chung was nominated to be South Korea's unification minist ...
introduced her, he noted that respecting women is a feature of
Korean culture The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean sovereign state, stat ...
. Experts have taken her role as a female negotiator during the 2013 working level talks as an implication that the
North Korean government North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
wants to conduct the talks in a friendly mood. North Korea could have also tried to match the position of
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...
, South Korea's first female president, whom Kim hosted on a visit to Pyongyang in 2002 prior to her presidency. During the 2013 meeting she was noted for wearing a turquoise suit similar to that worn by
Ri Sol-ju Ri Sol-ju (; born 1985–1989) is the current First Lady of North Korea as the wife of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. Little is known about her from official North Korean sources, but outside sources have speculated more about her background. ...
, the wife of
Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...
when she was introduced to the public as North Korea's First Lady. Kim also wore high heels, which has been interpreted as adopting a Western fashion at the cost of comfort. In 2018, she accompanied
Kim Yo Jong Kim Yo Jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat, and sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. She is the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). ...
as a member of the North Korean delegation to the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...
in
Pyeongchang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...
, South Korea. She also took part in meetings ahead of the 2018 North Korea–United States summit with US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American retired politician who served in the First presidency of Donald Trump#Administration, first administration of Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) fr ...
and President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. She was also part of the delegation to the summit itself.


See also

* Choe Son-hui *
Inter-Korean summits Inter-Korean summits are meetings between the leaders of North and South Korea. To date, there have been five such meetings so far (2000, 2007, April 2018, May 2018, and September 2018), three of them being in Pyongyang, with another two in ...
*
Kim Kyong-hui Kim Kyong-hui (; born 30 May 1946) is the aunt of current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong Il. She currently serves as Secretary f ...
*
Kim Sol-song Kim Sol-song (; born 30 December 1974) is the daughter of North Korea's former leader Kim Jong Il and Kim Young-sook and a half-sister to Kim Jong-un, the current leader of North Korea. She has been active within the propaganda department, been ...
*
Kim Yo Jong Kim Yo Jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat, and sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. She is the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). ...
*
Politics of North Korea The politics of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK) takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. ''Juche'', which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, i ...
*
Ro Song-sil Ro Song-sil (, born 1960) is a North Korean politician. She has served as the chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Korean Democratic Women's Union (KDWU) and as a member of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. She was ...
*
Women in North Korea The status of women in North Korea is not fully understood outside the country, due to the political isolation of North Korea, the unwillingness of the North Korean authorities to allow foreign investigators access in the country, and the exist ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Song-hye Living people 1965 births People from South Pyongan Province Government ministers of North Korea Workers' Party of Korea politicians 21st-century North Korean women politicians 21st-century North Korean politicians