Kim Ok, the former secretary to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, is seated at the far end of a meeting table, on the right. (U.S. Department of Defense)
Kim Ok (김옥, 1964) is a North Korean government employee who served as Kim Jong-il's personal secretary from the 1980s until his death.[1] After the death of Ko Yong-hui, she regularly met with foreign officials as de facto first lady, and was rumored to be his fourth wife.
Kim was previously a musician and was a piano major at Pyongyang University of Music and Dance. In September 2012, she reportedly went to Berlin for medical treatment.[2]
After Kim Jong-il's death, she was presented with the Order of Kim Jong-il for services in building a "thriving socialist nation", along with 131 other individuals.[3]
In early July, 2016 she was purged and sent to a Labour Camp.[4]
^To keep the tree of manageable size, it omits five out of the eight known children of Kim Il Sung. Other children not shown in the tree are: Kim Man-il, Kim Kyong-jin, Kim Yong-il, Kim Hyŏn-nam, and Kim Yŏng-il
^Korean names often have a variety of transliterations into English, which can be confusing. For example, "Kim Jong-chul" may also be written "Gim Jeong-cheol" or "Kim Jŏng-ch'ŏl" among many other variations. See Korean romanization for more information.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Il list his birth year as 1942. The Korean calendar is based upon the Chinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1942 (Year of the Horse), in addition to being 30 years since Kim Il Sung's birth may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Official North Korean biographies of Kim Jong Un list his birth year as 1982. The Korean calendar is based upon the Chinese zodiac which is believed to characterize one's personality. The year 1982 (Year of the Dog), in addition to being 70 years since Kim Il Sung's birth, may be viewed as a better year than others, thus creating a motive to lie about a birth year.
^Birth year for Kim Ju-ae is not publicly known. She may have been born in either late 2012 or early 2013.
