Bio of Dr. Pilju Kim Joo, Ph.D.

Pilju Kim Joo, Ph.D., is the President of Agglobe Services International, a development aid organization providing humanitarian and agricultural assistance to North Korea. Born in northern Korea in 1937 before the country was divided, she and her family fled North Korea before the Korean War broke out. She grew up in South Korea, studied agriculture at Seoul National University at a time when few women were even attending college, and pursued graduate studies in the United States. After completing her Ph.D. in seed science at Cornell University, Dr. Kim Joo went on to work for some of the world’s leading agricultural corporations developing cutting-edge seed science and technologies.

Dr. Kim Joo has worked with major seed companies, including Northrup King and Pioneer Hi-bred International. She has been to North Korea over 100 times and has brought with her millions of dollars worth of agricultural knowledge, technology, and supplies to several cooperative farms throughout the country. She secured one of the first contracts with the North Korean government to work with several dozen cooperative farms on developing their agriculture, including helping them to identify export markets to generate income. Dr. Kim Joo currently works closely with four cooperative farms in North and South Hwanghae provinces.