Jang aides survive ‘re-education’, take his place to maintain crucial China business ties

Special to WorldTribune.com

SEOUL — Kim Ki-Sok, son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s chief of staff, and his associate Kim Chol-Jin have emerged as the country’s top officials for handling economic deals with China.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un lifts a glass with China’s Wang Jiarui in August 2012 in Pyongyang. /AP/KCNA

They are assuming the role of Jang Song-Thaek who was executed for treason and corruption in December, sources in Seoul say.

Significantly, Kim Ki-Sok, chairman of the State Commission for Economic Development, and Kim Chol-Jin, the commission’s first vice chairman, were aides to Jang, but survived the sweeping purge and have taken Jang’s critically important responsibility of managing business deals with China, according to a government source here.

The two Kims “had been sacked due to their connections with Jang, but returned to their posts with the task of winning much-needed hard currency from China and other foreign nations,” the source said.

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Jang aides survive ‘re-education’, Kim Chol-Jin, Kim Jong-Un, Kim Ki-Sok, State Commission for Economic Development, take his place to maintain crucial China business ties

Jang aides survive ‘re-education’, take his place to maintain crucial China business ties added by World Tribune on March 13, 2014
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