Kim Il-chol (, born 1933) is a former member of the North Korean

National Defence Commission The National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (NDC) () was the highest state institution for military and national defence leadership in North Korea, which also served as the highest governing institution of the cou ...

and former Minister for Defence. He was born in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

in 1933. He graduated from

Mangyongdae Revolutionary School Red Flag Mangyongdae Revolutionary School is an elite school in Mangyongdae district of Pyongyang, North Korea. Established in 1947, it is a special education school with access only to the Workers' Party of Korea, Korean People's Army, administra ...

and the "Soviet Union Naval Academy". Although the North Korean army mainly depends on ground troops, Admiral Kim who was commander of the

Korean People's Navy The Korean People's Army Naval Force (KPANF; Korean: 조선인민군 해군; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍海軍; ''Chosŏn-inmingun Haegun''; ) or the Korean People's Navy (KPN), is the naval service branch of the Korean People's Army, which contain ...

since 1982 was installed in the highest military position of the head of the Minister of the People's Armed Forces in 1998, filling a vacancy left by

Choe Kwang Marshal Choe Kwang (; July 17, 1918 – February 21, 1997) was a prominent military leader in North Korea. Biography He graduated from the Soviet Military School and served as captain in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army until the end of the Jap ...

, who died in February 1997, something that indicated that he was fully trusted by Kim Jong-il. Kim Il-chol participated as a senior delegate in the inter-Korean Defense Minister’s meeting held for the first time since the

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

in September 2000. Kim was appointed to the National Defence Commission in 1988. He was removed from all positions in 2010, reportedly due to his advanced age. Kim is currently a member of the Korea-China Association for Civil Exchange Promotion. He has been awarded the

Hero of the Republic Hero of the Republic () is a North Korean honorific title. It was created on 30 June 1950 as Hero of the Korean People's Republic (). It was the first title created in the country. Despite having been created just five days after the Korean War ...

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 ...

and the Order of the National Flag (1st Class).

References

1933 births Living people North Korean military personnel North Korean politicians People from Pyongyang Defence ministers of North Korea {{NorthKorea-mil-bio-stub