Kang Sok-ju

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Kang Sok-ju
Kim Jong-il
Preceded byPaek Nam-sun
Succeeded byPak Ui-chun
Personal details
Born(1939-08-29)August 29, 1939
Pyongyang, North Korea
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
Alma materUniversity of International Affairs
Professiondiplomat

Kang Sok-ju (Korean: 강석주;[1] Korean pronunciation: [kaŋ.sɔk̚.t͈su]; August 29, 1939 – May 20, 2016[2]) was a North Korean diplomat and politician.

Having obtained a

Korean Workers' Party
's deputy director for international affairs, and then director.

In 1980, he was appointed section leader of his bureau. In 1984, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in 1986 he became First Vice Foreign Minister, a position which he held until 2010.[2]

In the 1990s, he was prominently involved in

diplomatic talks with the United States over the issue of his country's nuclear programme. He negotiated the Agreed Framework with Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gallucci and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1994.[3] He was subsequently in charge of supervising North Korea's relations with the United States, which became his area of expertise.[2] Reuters states that Kang "engineered the development of the North's nuclear programme that [...] has been the key source of regional security tensions".[4]

concentration camp for training in revolutionary discipline".[2]

In September 2010, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Premier of the North Korean Government, under Premier Choe Yong-rim.[5] His specific assignment was to oversee foreign policy.[6] Kim Kye-gwan replaced him as First Vice Foreign Minister.[4]

Kim Jong-il".[6]

Kang died on May 20, 2016, from esophageal cancer.[7] His funeral committee was chaired by Choe Ryong-hae and had 52 other members.[8]

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Political offices
Preceded by Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
2007
Succeeded by