Choe Deok-sin
최덕신
Malaysian Minister for Agriculture Malaya Khir Johari and the foreign minister of South Korea Choe Dok-sin sign the first ever trade agreement between those two countries in Seoul
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea
In office October 11, 1961 – March 15, 1963
President	Park Chung Hee
Preceded by	Song Yo-chan
Succeeded by	Kim Yong-shik
Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland
In office ??–1989
President	Kim Il Sung
Personal details
Born	(1914-09-17)September 17, 1914 Uiju County, North Pyongan Province, Empire of Japan
Died	November 14, 1989(1989-11-14) (aged 75) Pyongyang, North Korea
Spouse	Ryu Mi-yong

Choe Deok-sin ( Korean: 최덕신; September 17, 1914 – November 14, 1989) was a South Korean Foreign Minister who later defected with his wife, Ryu Mi-yong, to North Korea. ^[1]

Choe was born in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province. In 1936, he graduated from the Republic of China Military Academy, and served as a Republic of China Army officer. ^[2] By the end of World War II, Choe had been promoted to colonel. ^[2] After the war Choe returned to South Korea and entered the national army academy as a second lieutenant. ^[2] In 1949, Choe entered the United States Military Academy. ^[2] On July 14, 1950, Choe returned to South Korea. ^[2] Choe served as a commanding general of the South Korean 11th Division under the United States IX Corps during the Korean War. ^{[2] [3]} His division carried out the Sancheong-Hamyang and Geochang massacres. After the military coup, from 1961 to 1963, Choe served as a Foreign Minister and Ambassador to West Germany. ^[1]

In 1986, Choe relocated with his wife Ryu Mi-yong to North Korea from their exile in the United States, where they had been known for their opposition to the policies of the South Korean military government. ^[4] Choe served as a chief of the central committee of the Chondogyo religious movement and vice-chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. ^{[1] [4]} Choe's son, Choe In-guk, reportedly defected to North Korea in July 2019. ^{[5] [6]}

Bibliography

• Choe Deok-sin (1972). Panmunjom and After. New York: Vantage Press. OCLC  754916.
• — (1987). The Nation and I: For the Reunification of the Motherland. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC  17933376.
• — (1989). My Thirty Years in South Korea: Amid the Tragedy of National Division. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC  21567991.
• — (1990). In the Embrace of My Motherland. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. OCLC  27117555.

See also

• Sancheong-Hamyang massacre
• Geochang massacre
• South Korean defectors
• North Korean defectors
• Hwang Jang-yop, Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, highest-ranking defector from the North

References