Pak Jae-gyong

Pak Jae-gyong (Korean: 박재경; born 10 June 1933) is a North Korean politician and soldier.[1] A general in the Korean People's Army (KPA), Pak is a Vice Minister in the Ministry of People's Armed Forces as well as a full member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Pak is also a delegate of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA). He is one of the two survivors of 31 commandos sent to assassinate South Korean president Park Chung Hee in the Blue House raid in 1968.

For the golfer, see Park Jae-kyung (golfer).
In this Korean name, the family name is Pak.
Pak Jae-gyong
박재경
Personal details
Born (1933-06-10) 10 June 1933
North Hamgyong Province in Korea under Japanese rule
CitizenshipNorth Korean
NationalityKorean
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
OccupationPolitician, Korean People's Army General, Vice Minister in the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, Delegate of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly
Military service
Allegiance North Korea
Branch/service Korean People's Army
Rank General
Korean name
Hangul
박재경
Hanja
朴在慶
Revised RomanizationBak Jae-gyeong
McCune–ReischauerPak Chae-gyŏng

Early life and education

Pak was born in North Hamgyong Province while Korea was under Japanese rule and attended the Kim Il-Sung Political and Military College.[2]

Blue House raid

Pak was one of thirty-one men handpicked for the 1968 Blue House raid (also known as the January 21 Incident in South Korea), an assassination attempt on the life of South Korean President Park Chung Hee.[3] Pak was one of only two survivors of the failed mission, the other being Kim Shin-jo, and was the only one to return to the North.[4]

Military and political career

In February 1985, he assumed the role of brigadier general of the Korean People's Army (KPA), and was made Head of the Propaganda Department of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army.[2] In 1989, Pak took on the role of political commissar of the 4th Corps of the KPA, and in January 1993 was promoted to major general. Through the December by-elections of the same year, Pak was elected as an official of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).[2]

In June 1994, Pak was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.[5] In September of the same year, he was appointed General Director of the Propaganda Department under the General Political Bureau.[2] In August 1995 he was re-elected as an member of the Central Committee of the WPK. Pak was promoted to general of the KPA in February 1997.[5]

In September 2000, Pak Jae-gyong accompanied Kim Yong-sun, the then vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, on his trip to South Korea at the invitation of then president Kim Dae-jung. Pak presented three tons of the famous Chilbo Mountain pine mushrooms as a present from Kim Jong Il.[3]

In 2007, Pak delivered another gift of pine mushrooms, this time weighing four tons, when he called on President Roh Moo-hyun. It is speculated that the choice of Pak was in part due to his involvement in the Blue House raid, and that sending him was a way of mocking the South.[3]

From 2007 onwards, Pak has been a Vice Minister in the Ministry of People's Armed Forces and in September 2010 was appointed a member of the Central Committee of the WPK.[2]

Pak served as a delegate of the 10th and 11th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) and since April 2009 has been a delegate of the 12th SPA.[5]

Over the years, Pak has been a member of the State Funeral Committee for the deaths of Kim Il Sung, O Jin-u, Yon Hyong-muk, Pak Song-chol, Jo Myong-rok and Kim Jong Il.[2]

Awards and honors

A picture of Pak shows Pak wearing the ribbons to all decorations awarded to him.[6]

See also

References
  1. "One of NK's richest men said to serve in assembly hall". The Korea Times. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. 북한자료센터,주요인물 - 박재경. Ministry of Unification (in Korean). Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  3. Kim, Kisam (19 September 2013). Kim Dae-jung and the Quest for the Nobel: How the President of South Korea Bought the Peace Prize and Financed Kim Jong-il's Nuclear Program. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-349-46954-3.
  4. 1·21 청와대 습격사건 생포자 김신조 전격 증언. Shin Dong-A (in Korean). 29 January 2004. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. Naver 지식백과-박재경. Naver (in Korean). Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  6. 임주영 (2009-06-15). "北박재경 "美 사소한 도발에 급소 일격할 것"". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-01-10.
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