Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) is a North Korean organisation aimed at promoting Korean reunification.

Overview

The CPRF is not a governmental body per se but rather an offshoot of the Workers' Party's United Front Department; the distinction is intended to emphasise the North Korean government's position that the Southern government is illegitimate and should not be dealt with by official bodies.^[1] It was established on 13 May 1961 as part of Pyongyang's ongoing response to the South Korean April Revolution of the preceding year which had resulted in Rhee Syng-man's resignation. The mere announcement of the CPRF's creation is believed to have exacerbated political instability in the South and to have contributed to the success of Park Chung-hee's coup three days later. In the aftermath of the Committee's creation, Pyongyang's reunification policy took a sharp turn towards violent means aimed at provoking the Southern government and inciting an internal Communist revolution there; Pyongyang concluded further military agreements with China and the Soviet Union, captured the USS Pueblo, attempted to assassinate Park Chung-hee in 1968 in what became known as the Blue House Raid, and shot down an American aircraft the following year.^[2]

Membership

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Past vice-chairmen of the CPRF include:

• Choe Deok-sin (until 1989)^[3]
• Kim Yong-sun (until 2003)^[4]
• Kim Ki-nam (c. 2005)^[5]

References