General Kim Kyok-sik (; 5 October 1938 – 10 May 2015) was a

defence minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

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

Kim Kyok-sik was born in 1938. He studied at Kim Il-sung Military Academy before being moved to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

as North Korea's military attaché in the 1970s, possibly managing support activities for the

Eritrean Liberation Front ar, جبهة التحرير الإريترية it, Fronte di Liberazione Eritreo , war = the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrean War of Independence and the Eritrean Civil Wars , image = , caption = Flag of the ELF ...

and the Turkish Workers' Party. He was called back to North Korea by the 1980s, serving as an official of 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 was elected deputy to the

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 ...

in 1990, appointed member of the 6th Central Committee of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

in 1991, and promoted to colonel-general in 1992. He was given a low-level position in the

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

funeral committee in 1994. Kim was promoted to general in 1997. He received command of the 2nd Army Corps in October 1994 and held it until April 2007, when he was appointed

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afg ...

replacing

Kim Yong-chun Kim Yong-chun (4 March 1936 – 16 August 2018) was a North Korean soldier and politician. He was a leader of the North Korean military. He held the North Korean military rank Chasu (Vice Marshal), was Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commi ...

, who had been appointed defence minister. He was succeeded by Ri Yong-ho in February 2009. Kim was then appointed commander of the 4th Army Corps and is widely believed to have commanded the November 2009 drills near the Northern Limit Line and the November 2010 shelling of

Yeonpyeongdo Yeonpyeong Island or Yeonpyeongdo ( ko, 연평도 ; referred to by North Korea as Yŏnphyŏng Islet) is a group of South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, located about west of Incheon and south of the coast of Hwanghae Province, North Korea. ...

. He was downgraded from full to alternate member of the WPK Central Committee at the Party Conference in September 2010. Kim was appointed vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces in August 2011 and promoted to minister in November 2012."North Korea appoints hardline general as armed forces minister"
The Guardian, 29 November 2012. He was made Politburo alternate member in March 2013. After six months of service, during which he also oversaw the rising military tensions with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

from February to April 2013, Kim—dubbed a hardliner—was unexpectedly replaced as minister by little-known general Jang Jong-nam in May 2013,North Korea names General Jang Jong-nam as new armed forces minister
''China Daily'', May 12, 2013. only to be reappointed Chief of the KPA General Staff. He was replaced again in August after only 3 months, possibly during a meeting of the 6th Central Military Commission on August 25.''Kim Jong-un purges North Korea's army chief'', The Telegraph, 30 August 2013. Reports suggest the seizure of a North Korean arms ship in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

as the reason behind his removal. He died in 2015 of acute respiratory failure.

Works

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Kyok-sik, Kim 1938 births 2015 deaths People from South Hamgyong North Korean generals Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Government ministers of North Korea Defence ministers of North Korea Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Alternate members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Deaths from respiratory failure