Kang Sun-nam ( ko, 강순남, ) is a

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 ...

n politician and general who is currently the minister of Defence. He is also a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and a member of the

8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was elected at the party's 8th Congress on 10 January 2021, and will sit until the convocation of the next party congress. In between party congresses and specially convened conferences t ...

He was previously the director of the Civil Defense Department of the Workers' Party of Korea which oversees the

Worker-Peasant Red Guards The Worker-Peasant Red Guards (WPRG; ), also translated as Workers and Peasants' Red Militia (WPRM), is a paramilitary force in North Korea. It is the largest civil defense force in North Korea. It was established on 14 January 1959 by Kim Il-su ...

. He has held positions such as Deputy Minister of the People's Armed Forces and Commander of the 671st Grand Combined Unit.

Biography

His birthplace and date of birth are unknown. He was first elected as a member of the funeral committee for Marshal Lee Ul-sol, who died on November 7, 2015. On December 24 of the same year, he participated in the joint operation training of the Grand Combined Forces as the commander of the 671st Combined Force. At the 7th Congress of the WPK held on May 9, 2016, he was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and although the timing of his appointment is unknown, he became Vice

Minister of People's Armed Forces The Ministry of Defence (, formerly 인민무력성/人民武力省 or Ministry of the People's Armed Forces) is the government agency tasked with general administrative and logistical coordination of the Korean People's Army (KPA). Prior to 1992, ...

. On July 25, 2017, he attended the 90th anniversary of the founding of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

of China at the Chinese Embassy in North Korea and met with Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun. He was elected as a delegate in the election of delegates to the

14th Supreme People's Assembly Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 10 March 2019 to elect the members of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly. The elections were announced on 6 January 2019. With only one candidate on the ballot in each constituency, outside obs ...

held on March 10, 2019. He was elected as a member of the 8th Central Committee at the

8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea was held at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang from 5 to 12 January 2021. A total of 7,000 people participated in the congress including 5,000 delegates. The Party Congress took place in th ...

held from January 5, 2021, and at the 1st Plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party held on January 10, the Workers' Party of Korea He was elected as a member of the 8th Central Military Commission and the Director of the Munition Industry Department of the Central Committee. On September 9, 2021, at the military parade celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the country, it was confirmed that he was appointed director of the Civil Defense department of the WPK. On April 14, 2022, he was promoted to general by order of the Central Military Commission. In August that year he made a report to the 6th meeting of the Workers' Peasants Red Guard. On 1 January 2023, during a plenary session of the WPK, Kang was appointed the minister of Defence. In July 2023, Russian Defense Sergei Shoigu arrived in

for the 70th anniversary of the end of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He met with Kang Sun-nam and North Korean leader

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 ...

. During the meeting, Shoigu praised the North Korean army as the "most powerful" in the world.

Awards and honors

During the February 8 2023 parade, Kang could be seen wearing all decorations awarded to him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Sun-nam North Korean generals North Korean politicians Members of the Supreme People's Assembly 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Recipients of the Order of Kim Il Sung