Pak Pong-ju is a North Korean leader who is currently serving his second term as the Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
Pak Pong-ju
@Premier of North Korea, Career and Personal Life
Apr 10, 1939
Biography
Personal Details
- Birthday: April 10, 1939
- Nationality: North Korean
- Famous: Premier of North Korea, Leaders, Political Leaders, Prime Ministers
- Birth Place: North Hamgyong Province
- Political Ideology: Workers' Party of Korea
- Gender: Male
- Sun Sign: Aries
Pak Pong-ju born at
North Hamgyong Province
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Birth Place
Pak Pong-ju was born on April 10, 1939 in Kim Chaek City, Hamgyŏngbukdo, Korea, which is now in North Hamgyong Province in North Korea. He attended Tokchon University of Technology, from where he earned certification as a machine building engineer.
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Childhood & Early Life
Pak Pong-ju started out his career by managing a food factory near the border with China. In 1962, he was appointed the manager of the Yongchon food factory in North Pyong'an Province.
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Career
By the 1970, he became an industrial manager and also became involved with the ruling Korean Workers' Party (KWP) as a party cadre. He then served as a party manager of the DPRK’s chemical industries and was elected as an Alternate Member of the WPK Central Committee during the 6th Party Congress in October 1980.
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Career
He was appointed the party secretary of the Namhu’ng Youth Chemical Complex in July 1983 and became the Chief Secretary of the facility in 1989. In the meantime, he went on to visit former Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary in May 1987.
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Career
In the early 1990s, he shifted from the chemical industry to the light industry and became Kim Jong-il's sister Kim Kyong Hui’s principal deputy at the CC KWP Light Industry Department in 1993. He became the vice director of the party's Economic Policy Supervisory Department in March 1994.
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Career
At the time of the death of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, he managed to make into the funeral committee with a rank of 188 among 273 members in the elite hierarchy. However, by July 1998, he was elected deputy to the 10th Supreme People’s Assembly, following which he returned to the chemical industry after being appointed Minister of Chemical Industry by the then-premier Hong Song-nam.
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Career
Pak Pong-ju has been credited for leading a process of quiet reform inside North Korea that helped DPRK's economy survive sanctions since 2002, as well as for reintroducing the July 2002 economic reforms later. While he was sacked a few years into his first tenure as the premier, his reinstatement in 2013 signaled to the world the return of pragmatists and reformists into power.
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Major Works
Touted as the market-oriented reformer by the international media, he is thought to be one of the greatest hopes for people in North Korea, who want to live a happier and more fulfilling life. He is also considered an able and charismatic leader as he has survived being purged in the late 2000s and is now one of three most powerful people in the country.
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Major Works