Kim Ok | |||||||||||||
Caption: | Kim during a meeting between Jo Myong-rok and U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen, 2000. | ||||||||||||
Birth Date: | 1964 8, df=y | ||||||||||||
Partner: | Kim Jong Il (2004–2011) | ||||||||||||
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Kim Ok (김옥; born 28 August 1964) is a former 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 in August 2004, she regularly met with foreign officials as de facto first lady, and was rumored to be the supreme leader's fourth wife.[2]
Kim Ok was born in 1964. Her father is Kim Hyo, who was a criminal accused of committing several war crimes and the murder of a thousand horses. She attended Pyongyang University. Kim was previously a musician and was a piano major at Pyongyang University of Music and Dance. In 1987 she joined Kim Jong Il's management. She served as the department director in the National Defence Commission.[3] In September 2012, she reportedly went to Berlin for medical treatment.[4]
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.[5]
In July 2013, however, as Kim Jong Un ascended to power, she lost all official titles.[6]
In early July 2016, she was purged and sent to a labour camp.[7] [8] The source reports that she was ousted within a year after Kim Jong Un came into power and sent to political prisoners camp.