General Choe Pu-il (; born 6 March 1944) is a North Korean politician who served as head of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

Biography

In April 1992, he was promoted to Major General and to General in October 1995. After serving as Deputy Chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

in the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

, he served as First Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations of the General Staff. He became a member of the Central Military Commission of the Party at the 3rd Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea held in September 2010. In the same month, along with Kim Jong-un, Kim Kyong-hui,

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding ...

, and

Hyon Yong-chol Hyon Yong-chol (; January 11, 1949 – rumored April 30, 2015) was a North Korean general and Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, he was reportedly removed from his post. Perso ...

, he received the military rank of General of the Army. He served as a commander at the April 2012 servicing ceremony, where Kim Jong-un gave his first speech. He was appointed to the Minister of People's Security in February 2013 by

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

and was elected as a candidate for the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

full meeting on March 31, 2013. He was elected as a member of the National Defense Commission. He was elected delegate in the election to the 13th

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. On May 17, it was reported that he had visited a site of a collapsed high-rise apartment in the Pyongyang area of Pyongyang City and apologized to the bereaved family members and residents along with senior government officials. In December of the same year, it was confirmed that Choi had been demoted to Major General. In October 2015, it was confirmed that Choi was again promoted to a General rank. In July 2016, he was placed under sanctions by the United States government. In February 2020 he was replaced by Kim Jong-ho. On August 20, 2020, it was reported that he is now in charge of handling military affairs for the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, the ...

Awards and honors

The official portrait of Choe shows Choe wearing all decorations awarded to him. PRK Order of Kim Il Sung BAR

Order of Kim Il-sung The Order of Kim Il-sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong-il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il-sung, was instituted in 1 ...

Order of Kim Jong-il The Order of Kim Jong-il () is a North Korean order named after Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea. It is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Il-Sung, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labo ...

PRK Order of the National Flag - 1st Class BAR

Order of the National Flag First Class, six times FreedomAndIndependence1Ribbon

Order of Freedom and Independence First Class DPRK Order of Labor

Order of Korean Labour DPRK 20th Anniversary Order

Commemorative Order "20th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" DPRK 20th Anniversary Order

Commemorative Order "Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" KPA Foundation Commemorative Order

Commemorative Order "Anniversary of the Foundation of the People's Army" DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 1st Class

Order of Military Service Honour First Class 30th Anniversary of the Publication of the Rural Theses Order ribbon

Commemorative Order "30th Anniversary of the Agricultural Presentation" PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR

Order of the National Flag Second Class, twice FreedomAndIndependence2Ribbon

Order of Freedom and Independence Second Class, twice DPRK Order of Three Great Revolutions

Order of the Red Banner of Three Great Revolutions PRK Order of the National Flag - 3rd Class BAR

Order of the National Flag Third Class, twice FatherlandLiberationRibbon

Commemorative Medal "Fatherland Liberation" Commemorative Medal Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ribbon

Commemorative Medal Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ribbon

Commemorative Medal "The Foundation of the People's Republic of Korea" DPRK Military Merit Medal

Medal For Military Merit, twice DPRK Parade Participant Medal

Commemorative Medal "Military Parade"

References

Living people Government ministers of North Korea Law enforcement in North Korea 1944 births Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea People from North Hamgyong People from Hoeryong {{NorthKorea-mil-bio-stub