| Alejandro Cao de Bénos de Les y Pérez 조선일 |
|
|---|---|
| President of the Korean Friendship Association | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 8 August 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974 Tarragona, Spain |
| Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | North Korea |
| Service/branch | Spanish Army Korean People's Army |
| Rank | Alférez |
| Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 조선일 |
| Hancha | 朝鮮一 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Cho Sŏn-il |
| Revised Romanization | Jo Seon Il |
Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez (born 1974 in Tarragona, Spain) is a Korean-Spanish Special Delegate of the DPRK's Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and president of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA).
He has been an advocate of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) since 1990. His activities are occasionally mentioned in bulletins from the Korean Central News Agency. His Korean name, Cho Son-il ("Korea is One"), is officially recognized by North Korea. He has lived in Tarragona and Barcelona (in the region of Catalonia, Spain, working as an IT consultant).
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Cao founded the Korean Friendship Association in the year 2000, setting up an officially approved DPRK website.[1] It includes a media section and a web-shop where badges, North Korean music, and other items can be bought on-line.
In 2002 Cao became the first foreigner allowed to work on behalf of the North Korean authorities in an official capacity, thus fulfilling a dream he had had since he was a teenager. This required that North Korean law had to be changed. He was given a North Korean passport. His official assignment is as a "special representative" of the Foreign Ministry.[2]
Cao travels regularly to Pyongyang, organizing international delegations for the foreign press, cultural exchanges and business meetings, which entail working with DPRK officials in many ministries in both cultural and diplomatic affairs. He has written numerous articles on matters relating to the political situation in the Korean Peninsula, as well as giving interviews for television, newspapers, radio and internet press. As one of the few foreigners to devoutly follow the DPRK party line, he continues to be greatly involved with the Korean Friendship Association as well as with North Korean international relations, and the reunification of the Korean peninsula. Cao is prominently featured in the documentary "Friends of Kim".
According to the KFA,[3] Cao has received several North Korean awards including the North Korean Friendship Medal from the DPRK's Supreme People's Assembly, diplomas from the Central Committee of Radio and Television of the DPRK and the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, and a personal gift from Kim Jong Il.[4]