North Korean House of Cards

• Kim Song-nam (62) is an alternate member of the KWP Central
Committee and Vice Director of the KWP International Affairs
Department. He is a renowned “China hand” who started working in
the KWP International Affairs Department in the 1980s. He accompanied
Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il many times during their visits to
China. He also accompanied Choe Ryong-hae in May 2013 and Jang
Song-taek in August 2013 on their visits to China. He appears to be
leading the negotiations with Beijing that will eventually pave the way
for Kim Jong-un’s first trip to China. 664 He is one of Kim Jong-un’s
primary advisors on China affairs and allegedly has a direct communications
channel with the Supreme Leader.
• Kim Su-gil (76) has been the Chief Secretary of the Pyongyang
Municipal Party Committee since 2014. He replaced Mun Kyong-tok,
who was reportedly removed because of his close ties to Jang Song-taek
and the former KWP Administrative Department. It is highly likely
that he has also replaced Mun as the KWP Secretary for Pyongyang
Affairs. Kim Su-gil began to appear on the political scene in 2013,
frequently accompanying Kim Jong-un on guidance inspections. North
Korean media identified Kim Su-gil in his current post in April 2014.
He was the point man for the apology for the collapse of the Pyongyang
apartment building in May 2014. He also has a rare background for
this position in that he is a lieutenant general with greater ties to the
military than the Party apparatus. He is rumored to be affiliated with
the GPB’s Organization Department. 665 He was listed 72nd on Jon
Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list.
• Jon Il-chun (74) is a Vice Director of the KWP Financial Accounting
Department (FAD) and Managing Director of the State Development
Bank. He has also been Director of Office 39 since 2010. 666 As the
point man for securing hard currency for the Kim family, he likely has
close ties to the Supreme Leader. Chon was reportedly one of Kim
Jong-il’s closest friends. The two were classmates at Namsan Higher
Middle School and Kim Il-sung University. He has been tied to North
Korea’s foreign trade for more than forty years, having assumed his first
significant position as a Director at the Ministry of Foreign Trade in
664 “DPRK Envoy’s Trips to China,” Yazhou Zhoukan Online 27, No. 29, July 28, 2013.
665 In May 2013, Kim Su-gil accompanied then GPB Director Choe Ryong-hae to China. At the
time, South Korean media speculated that Kim was the Vice Director of the GPB’s Organization Bureau.
666 Jon Il-chun’s role within the regime is discussed in the chapter on the Royal Economy.
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