Choson'gul 김영숙 Name Kim Young-sook Hancha 金英淑 Role Kim Jong-il's wife | Children Kim Sul-song McCune–Reischauer Kim Yongsuk | |
Spouse Kim Jong-il (m. 1974–2011) Similar People Kim Jong‑il, Song Hye‑rim, Kim Sul‑song, Ko Yong‑hui, Kim Ok | ||
Revised Romanization Gim Yeongsuk | ||
Kim Young-sook (Hangul: 김영숙; Hanja: 金英淑, born 1947) was the third wife of Kim Jong-il. She was the daughter of a high-ranking military official, and was a switchboard operator in North Hamgyong Province before moving to Pyongyang. Kim Jong-il's father, Kim Il-Sung, handpicked her to marry his son. The two had been estranged for some years before his death. Kim Young-sook had a daughter from this marriage, Kim Sul-song (born 1974). She was First Lady of North Korea from 1994 to late 2011.
Song Hye-rang, The sister of Kim Jong-il's second wife Song Hye-rim, mentioned that she is "insignificant to Kim Jong-il, apart from being a legitimate wife in front of Kim Il-sung. She didn't even have an identity card in North Korea" as noted in her memoir Rattan house.