Kang Kwan-ju

Kang Kwan -ju (also Kang Chu -il, born July 5, 1930 in Taedong -gun, Japanese Empire, today province P'yŏngan - namdo, North Korea) is a North Korean politician.

Training

Kang Kwan -ju studied history at the Kim Il-sung University in Pyongyang and later attended the Kim Il-sung cadre school of the Workers' Party of Korea ( WPK ).

Political career

Kang began his political career in the 1970s. In 1973 he became director of the art troupe Art Troupe, a state cultural ensemble that brings music, dance plays and operas for performance. In 1977 he was first elected a deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly. In his work in the cultural sector, he was frequently traveling abroad, including Japan. He was therefore regarded as a liaison officer of the North Korean regime for North Korea related General Association of Koreans in Japan ( Ch'ongryŏn ). He was also involved in the procurement of foreign currency on this organization, as well as the procurement of foreign media for the North Korean elite. In 1982, Kang, the head of the department for international contacts of the Central Committee ( CC) of the WPK. In 1986, he was also deputy head of the Organization Bureau of the CC, which was then led by the current leader Kim Jong- il. With the 2009 parliamentary elections Kang retired from the North Korean parliament.

Private

Kang Kwang -ju is a second cousin of the late North Korean President Kim Il-sung, and thus an uncle of the third degree of the current head of state Kim Jong- il.