Kim Dong-jo

Kim Dong-jo was born in Busan in 1918, studied at Kyushu University, and entered the Japanese civil service before Korea's liberation. After 1945 he held provincial and communications ministry posts, moving to the foreign ministry's political bureau in 1951. He led a goodwill mission that announced diplomatic relations with Malaya in February 1960 and became a principal figure in negotiations to normalize relations with Japan. ¹

Kim participated as chief delegate in the December 1965 exchange of ratifications with Japan and became Korea's first ambassador there after normalization. His appointment faced domestic criticism, including objections voiced in the National Assembly. In Washington, he represented Seoul through the changing regional alignments of the Nixon years. In February 1972 he repeatedly tried to see Henry Kissinger and press President Park Chung-hee's request for a summit before Nixon's China visit. Kissinger finally received him briefly on February 16. ^{1, 2}

Kim returned to Seoul as foreign minister in 1973, serving until 1975. He later headed the Korea Petroleum Development Corporation and practiced law. His memoirs returned to the long Japan negotiations and his broader public career. He died in December 2004. ³