Jang Song-thaek

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Lore & Background

Jang Song-thaek was born in Chongjin, during the Soviet Civil Administration of Northern Korea. He graduated from the Kim Il Sung Senior High School before leaving for Moscow, where he studied at Moscow State University between 1968 and 1972. Following his return, he married Kim Kyong-hui, the younger (and only) sister of Kim Jong Il. The couple had a daughter, Jang Kum-song (1977–2006), who lived in Paris as an international student; she refused an order to return to Pyongyang and then reportedly committed suicide in September 2006, due to Jang and his wife's opposition to her relationship with her boyfriend. Beginning in the 1970s, Jang held a series of positions in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). His first post was as an instructor for the Pyongyang City Committee of the Workers' Party. In the late 1970s, however, Jang's career stalled when he was sent away from the central party to be manager of a steel and ironworks in Nampo, an apparent demotion. Reports said that he was becoming too powerful or, according to other accounts, he had an over-ostentatious lifestyle. It was reported that Jang suffered severe burns in an industrial accident at the factory in Chollima/Kangson. His career recovered and he became deputy director of the Youth Work Department of the 6th WPK Central Committee in 1982 and director in 1985. He was first elected to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), North Korea's nominal parliament, in 1986. In April 1989, Jang was made a People's Hero; in June 1989, he was elected an alternate member of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. In April 1992, he was named a member of the Order of Kim Il Sung. Later that year he was promoted to full member of the 6th Central Committee. He was a member of the funeral committee for Kim Il Sung in 1994. Jang was appointed to be the first deputy director (or vice director) of the WPK's Organization and Guidance Department in November 1995. He had been identified by outside analysts as well as North Korean defector and former high official Hwang Jang-yop as a possible successor to Kim Jong Il; however, on 25 November 2004, South Korea's National Assembly heard testimony that he had been purged from his position. Some South Korean intelligence reports indicated that Jang was under house arrest in Pyongyang, while others suggested he might have been sent for "reeducation". Korean Central News Agency on 29 January 2006 found that Jang had been reinstated in December 2005. At the time of the restoration, North Korean media reported that he was not the first deputy director of the organizing leadership of the Party Central Committee, but merely the first deputy director of the Party Central Committee. It is said that he was reinstated as the first deputy director of the Capital Construction Department. In 2005 and in September 2006, Jang was involved in auto accidents, the first leaving him hospitalized for five months. In one of the collisions his car was hit by a military truck, and there were rumors of an assassination plot. Jang re-emerged in March 2006, accompanying Kim Jong Il on an official visit to China. In October 2007, the Korean Central News Agency confirmed that Jang had been promoted to the newly recreated post of first vice-director of the Workers' Party of Korea, with oversight responsibility for the police, judiciary, and other areas of internal security; Jang attended South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun's luncheon during the latter's visit to the North. It was later revealed that Jang had been actually appointed director of the Administration Department, an old agency of the Workers' Party abolished in 1990 and re-created by splitting the Organization Department. He was elected to the National Defence Commission (NDC) in April 2009. He was made vice-chairman of the commission in summer 2010. During this period he was a close ally of Kim Jong Il. Jang was still in the post four years later, in April 2013. The NDC was North Korea's de facto supreme decision-making body; Jang's promotion made him a key executive deputy, second only to Kim Jong Il. It is speculated that the move was part of posturing to make Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un the next leader of North Korea. Jang's position in North Korean politics was also ostensibly boosted by the death of Ri Je-gang, a senior leader who was tipped by Kim Jong Il as a crucial overseer of the succession campaign. On 25 December 2011, North Korean television Sunday showed Jang in the uniform of a general. A Seoul official familiar with North Korea affairs said it was the first time Jang had been shown on state television in a military uniform. His appearance suggested that Jang had secured a key role in the North's military, which had pledged its allegiance to Kim Jong Un. Jang's importance continued to be demonstrated during his 2012 visit to China: various aspects of the visit echoed protocol which had previously been followed only for Kim Jong Il, including half of his entourage arriving ahead of time as an advance party, with the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Liu Hongcai, returning to China beforehand to greet Jang upon his arrival. On 17 August 2012, Jang met with China's premier, Wen Jiabao in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai. He met with Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Wang Jiarui, head of International Liaison Department of the CCP and minister in charge of the national development and reform commission, Zhang Ping, minister of finance Xie Xuren, minister of commerce Chen Deming, Liaoning provincial Party Committee Secretary Wang Min, Jilin provincial Party Committee Secretary Sun Zhengcai, and vice foreign minister Zhang Zhijun. He was the head of a delegation of the joint steering committee for developing and managing the Rason Economic and Trade Zone and the Hwanggumpyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zone. In the announcement, he was listed as chief of the central administrative department of the Workers' Party of Korea, a member of the WPK political bureau, and vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission. Jang said Kim Jong Un believed that bilateral relations with China are important and that the "profound friendship will be passed on from generation to generation" between China and North Korea. At the meeting with Wen, Jang said: "The DPRK is willing to closely cooperate with China to accelerate relevant efforts and push forward cooperation in developing economic zones." On 4 November 2012, the 6th WPK Politburo established a new State Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission, appointing Jang as its first chairman. An analyst suggested that this quiet promotion may have signaled a decline in Jang's status: in North Korea, "although sports can bring quick popularity, earn foreign exchange, raise patriotic fever, and help burn the energies of the youth and distract the masses from their daily hardships, it can never beat national security and socio-economic development in terms of its political significance. By asking Jang to chair the National Sports Commission, the young North Korean leader, less than a year into power, might have begun to nudge his uncle out of important policy deliberations." In January 2013, speculation arose that Jang had been quietly promoted to top decision-making Politburo Presidium member, as his official hierarchy position was elevated, displacing then-Chief of General Staff Hyon Yong-chol and his own wife Kim Kyong-hui. An analyst argued that Jang might be appointed president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (making him the nominal head of state of the DPRK) or Premier of North Korea, replacing officeholders who were in their 80s. Jang Song-thaek promoted the construction of a new bridge over the Yalu River between the Chinese city of Dandong and the Korean city of Sinuiju. As of December 2013, the bridge was nearly completed. That same month, Jang was not invited to the meeting of top North Korean officials handling national security and foreign affairs, following a rocket launch on 12 December 2012, and new international sanctions in response. Following Jang's fall from power, an analyst noted that Jang's "glaring absence" at the January 2013 meeting "signaled the emergence of a possible crack in the senior leadership, especially in the relationship between Kim and his all-powerful uncle, raising the possibility of divergent approaches between Kim and Jang" on North Korea foreign policy.

Reader's Guide

Jang Song-thaek's significance lies in his role as a high-ranking North Korean official and his close familial ties to the Kim dynasty. As the husband of Kim Kyong-hui and uncle of Kim Jong Un by marriage, he occupied a unique position of power and influence, particularly during the transition period following Kim Jong Il's declining health and death. His career trajectory—from rising star to apparent demotion, rehabilitation, and eventual execution—illustrates the volatile nature of North Korean elite politics. The extent of his power was never fully confirmed in the West, but he was widely seen as a key policy adviser and de facto leader during Kim Jong Il's final years. His execution in December 2013, following accusations of counter-revolutionary activities, underscores the regime's intolerance of perceived threats to the supreme leader's authority. Jang's legacy is that of a figure who rose to the second-highest position in the state but ultimately fell victim to the same system that elevated him.

Did You Know?

• Jang Song-thaek studied at Moscow State University between 1968 and 1972.
• His daughter Jang Kum-song (1977–2006) lived in Paris as an international student and reportedly committed suicide in September 2006 after refusing an order to return to Pyongyang.
• Jang suffered severe burns in an industrial accident at a steel and ironworks in Chollima/Kangson.
• He was first shown on state television in a military uniform on 25 December 2011, while visiting Kim Jong Il lying in state.
• Jang promoted the construction of a new bridge over the Yalu River between Dandong, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea; as of December 2013, the bridge was nearly completed.