Kim Yong-chun (4 March 1936 – 16 August 2018) was 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 soldier and politician. He was a leader of the North Korean military. He held the North Korean military rank
Chasu
''Ch'asu'' () is a superior military rank of North Korea, often translated as Vice Marshal. The rank is senior to that of '' Daejang'' (General) and junior to that of '' Wonsu'' (Marshal). The rank is seldom bestowed upon the professional milit ...
(Vice Marshal), was Vice Chairman of the
National Defense Commission of North Korea
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
Minister of Defence
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 ...
in other countries). He held a minor post within the Workers Party.
Early life
Born in 1936 in
Yanggang Province
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryan ...
Kim Il-sung Military University
Kim Il-sung Military University (also known as Kim Il-sung Military Academy) is a university located in Mangyongdae-guyok, Pyongyang, capital of North Korea. Founded in 1948 and named after Kim Il-sung, the school is a post-secondary educational ...
before starting his career in the party apparatus and 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 S ...
.
Career
He served as secretary of the South
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 ...
Provincial 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 ...
in the 1960s and was elected alternate member of the WPK Central Committee in 1980 at the 6th Party Congress. In 1986 he was elevated to Central Committee full member, director of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau and 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 ...
. He was abruptly purged in 1988 along with Chief of General Staff
O Kuk-ryol
O Kuk-ryol (, born 7 January 1930) is a North Korean military general who served as Vice Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, as head of the Operations Department from April 2009 to June 2016. The son of O Jung-song and n ...
for disputes with
O Jin-u
O Jin-u (March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician. He served with Kim Il-sung's partisan unit and eventually rose through the ranks of the North Korean Army. He distinguished himself during the Korean War an ...
.VMAR Kim Yong Chun North Korea Leadership Watch. Accessdate: 2018-08-21
Kim Yong-chun reappeared in the 1990s as he was promoted to
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
and director of the General Munitions Mobilization Bureau. He also oversaw the disbandment of the North Hamgyong Province's Sixth Army Corps, accused of corruption. In 1995, after O Jin-u's death, he was promoted to Vice Marshal and Chief of the KPA General Staff, a post he held until 2007, when he was appointed a vice-chairman of the
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 ...
.
Kim Yong-chun was reputedly close to Kim Jong-il and a member of his court of aides. He received new promotions in 2009 as Minister of People's Armed Forces and in 2010 as member of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission.
In December 2011, after the leader's death, he was ranked 5th among members of the Kim Jong-il funeral committee, immediately after Kim Jong-un and the Politburo Presidium members (
Kim Yong-nam
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese ...
,
Choe Yong-rim
Choe Yong-rim (, born 20 November 1930) is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from June 2010 to April 2013 and was a member of the 6th Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea.
and Ri Yong-ho), signalling his powerful position in the new leadership.
He was replaced as Minister by
Kim Jong-gak
Kim Jong-gak (; born 20 July 1941) , KCNA, 29 September 2010. is a
and appointed director of the WPK Civil Defense Department in April 2012. Although displaced from all significant leading posts, he was awarded the largely honorary rank of Marshal of the Korean People's Army in April 2016.
Death
Kim Yong-chun died on 16 August 2018 from
myocardial infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...
, aged 82. On his funeral committee were:
# Kim Jong-un
#
Kim Yong-nam
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese ...
#
Choe Ryong-hae
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#
Pak Pong-ju
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Earl ...
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Ri Myong-su
Ri Myong-su ( ko, 리명수; born on 20 February 1934 in Myongchon, North Hamgyong) is the former chief of General Staff of the Korean People's Army from 2016 to 2018.
Ri was a confidant and military aide of the former North Korean leader Kim J ...
#
Pak Kwang-ho
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#
Ri Su-yong
Ri Su-yong (; born 15 June 1940), also known as Ri Chol (), is a North Korean diplomat and politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea from April 2014 until May 2016.
Ri has served as a diplomat to Switzerland, and h ...
#
Kim Phyong-hae
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Thae Jong-su
Thae Jong-su (, born 20 March 1936) is a North Korean politician. He was a Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the director of the Munitions Industry Department of the WPK. He is a full member of the 7th Central Committee of ...
Pak Thae-song
Pak Thae-song (, born 14 September 1955) is a North Korean politician. He is the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly and a Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immor ...
#
Kim Yong-chol
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Biography
In April 1992, he was promoted to Major General and to General in October 1995. After serving as ...
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Ro Tu-chol
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Pyongyang (, , ) is the c ...
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Choe Hwi
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Pak Thae-dok
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Kim Su-gil is a ...
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Ri Yong-gil
Ri Yong-gil (, born 1955) is a North Korean military officer and the current Minister of Social Security. He is believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013.
Ri was made a Lieutenant General in April 200 ...
Jong Kyong-thaek
Jong Kyong-thaek (, born between 1 January 1961 and 31 December 1963) is a North Korean politician. He served as the Minister of State Security from 2018 to 2022, a member of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK ...
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Im Chol-ung
Im Chol-ung (, born 27 October 1961) is a North Korean politician. Im was a Vice Premier of North Korea. He is also an alternate member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and a full member of Central Committee of the Workers' ...
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Jo Yon-jun
Jo Yon-jun (born September 28, 1937) is a North Korean politician. Jo is a candidate member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and former first deputy in the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) of the Central Committe ...
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Ri Pyong-chol (, born 1948) is a North Korean marshal and formerly a top advisor of supreme leader Kim Jong-un, who served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party ...
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Kim Nung-o
Kim Nung-o (, born in the late 1960s) is a North Korean politician. He is the chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Party Committee of Pyongyang. Kim is also a full member of the Central Committee of the WPK and an alternate member of ...
#
Kim Tok-hun
Kim Tok-hun (, born 1961) is a North Korean politician serving as the Premier of North Korea since August 2020. He is also a full member on the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea and served as the chief of the parliamenta ...
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Jon Kwang-ho
Jon Kwang-ho ( ko, 전광호) is a politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He served as Vice Premier of North Korea in the Cabinet and is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was m ...
#
Ko In-ho
A KO is a knockout in various sports, such as boxing and martial arts.
K.O., Ko or Kō may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* KO (musician), Canadian musician who plays a fusion of hip hop and folk music
* ''K.O.'' (album), a 2021 ...
Ri Il-hwan
Ri Il-hwan (, born 1960) is a North Korean politician, a member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). He ...
#
Ri Chol-man
Ri Chol-man ( ko, 리철만, born in 1968) is a politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the Party Committee of South Hwanghae ...
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Ri Yong-rae ( ko, 리영래) is a North Korean politician. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
Biography
Born in Jangryong of the People's Army of Korea, he wa ...
#
Kim Kyong-ok
Kim Kyong-ok ( ko, 김경옥) is a North Korean politician and four-star army general in the Korean People's Army. He is member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first deputy director of the Organization and Guidance ...
#
Hwang Pyong-so
Hwang Pyong-so (born c. 1946 or 1949) is a North Korean general and politician who held the rank of Vice Marshal ( ko, 차수, ''Ch'asu'') in the Korean People's Army (KPA). He was a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea and the ...
#
Hong Sung-mu
Hong Sung-mu (, born 1 January 1942) is a North Korean nuclear weapons scientist and a Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) official working with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and space programs. He is the deputy director of the party's M ...
#
Kim Jong-gak
Kim Jong-gak (; born 20 July 1941) , KCNA, 29 September 2010. is a
#
Pak Su-il
Pak Su-il is a North Korean politician and military officer of the Korean People's Army. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and a delegate to the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's unicameral parliament.
...
Jo Kyong-chol
Jo Kyong-chol ( ko, 조경철) is a North Korean politician and officer who is serving as the commander of the Military Security Command and a member of the WPK Central Military Commission.
Biography
He is assumed to be born in 1944 or 1945. ...
Kim Hyong-ryong
Kim Hyong-ryong ( ko, 김형룡) is a military officer and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Ko ...
O Kum-chol
O Kum-chol ( ko, 오금철; born February 24, 1947) is an army general and politician in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He is a vice-chief of the General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army and a member of the C ...
An Ji-yong
An, AN, aN, or an may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Airlinair (IATA airline code AN)
* Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy
* AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey
* Anime North, a Canadian ...
Pak Jong-chon
Pak Jong-chon () is a North Korean Marshal and a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea.
Biography
In 2014, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the General Staff and Chief of Fire Command at the General Sta ...
Kwon Yong-jin
Kwon Yong-jin ( ko, 권영진/權英進) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army since January 2021.
Biography
Kwon Yong-jin is the d ...
Kim Kwang-hyok
Kim Kwang-hyok (born 27 August 1985) is a North Korean international football striker, playing club football for Kyŏnggong'ŏp in the DPR Korea Premier Football League
The DPR Korea Premier Football League is a North Korean associatio ...
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Ri Thae-sop ( ko, 리태섭) is a North Korean politician and general. He served as Minister of Social Security and is serving since June 2022 as Chief of the General Staff. He is also a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the ...
Kim Sang-ryong
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese f ...
#
Kim Kum-chol
Kim Kum-chol ( ko, 김금철, 金琴哲, born 7 April 1997) is a North Korean footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association foot ...
Song Sok-won
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at melody, distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various song form, forms, such as those includ ...
#
Ju Song-nam
JU may refer to:
Names and people
* Joo (Korean name), surname and given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Jū (鞠), Chinese surname
* Ru (surname), romanized Ju in Wade–Giles
* Ji Ju, a semi-legendary ancestor of the Zhou dy ...
Ko Myong-su
A KO is a knockout in various sports, such as boxing and martial arts.
K.O., Ko or Kō may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* KO (musician), Canadian musician who plays a fusion of hip hop and folk music
* ''K.O.'' (album), a 2021 ...
#
Kim Kwang-su
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...
Kim Kwang-hyok
Kim Kwang-hyok (born 27 August 1985) is a North Korean international football striker, playing club football for Kyŏnggong'ŏp in the DPR Korea Premier Football League
The DPR Korea Premier Football League is a North Korean associatio ...
Kim Yong-chol
Kim Yong-chol (; born 1946) is a North Korean general and politician who currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea for South Korean affairs and head of the United Front Department. From February ...
Han Chang-sun
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
Ryo Chun-sok
Ryo Chun-seok ( ko, 려춘석; born July 1930) is a military officer and politician of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Army General of the Korean People's Army, President of the Kim Il-sung Military University and a member of the Cen ...
Choe Kyong-song
Choe Kyong-song ( ko, 최경성) is a North Korean politician and colonel-general of the Korean People's Army. He was member of the 6th convocation of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and since 2010 member of its Central M ...
#
Kang Tong-yun
Kang Tong-yun is a North Korean politician. He is a Colonel General of the Korean People’s Army and a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
Career
In March 1988, Kang was elected an alternate member of the WPK ...
Jon Chang-bok
Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Jong Myong-do
Jong Myong-do ( ko, 정명도) is a North Korean politician and fleet admiral. He served as commander of the Korean People's Navy as well as member of the Supreme People's Assembly from the 10th convocation.
Biography
Little is known about the ...
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Pak Jae-gyong
Pak Jae-gyong (; born 10 June 1933) is a North Korean politician and soldier. A general in the Korean People's Army (KPA), Pak is a Vice Minister in the Ministry of People's Armed Forces as well as a member of the Central Committee of the Work ...
Kim Jong-gil
Kim Jong-gil (Hangul: 김종길; November 5, 1926 – April 1, 2017) was an early-modern South Korean poet.
Life
Kim Jong-gil was born on November 5, 1926, in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. and graduated from Korea University with undergradu ...
Kim Tu-il
Kim Tu-il (Korean: 김두일) is a North Korean politician. He is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the Provincial Party Committee of South Pyongan Province.
Biography
After serving as Vice-Chairman ...
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Kim Jae-ryong (, born 1959) is a North Korean politician who served as Premier of North Korea from April 2019 to August 2020. A senior official within the Workers' Party of Korea, he has served as the director of the Organization and Guidance D ...
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Ri Hi-yong ( ko, 리히용) is a North Korean politician. He is a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic P ...
Kang Yang-mo
Kang may refer to:
Places
* Kang Kalan, Punjab
* Kang District, Afghanistan
* Kang, Botswana, a village
* Kang County, Gansu, China
* Kang, Isfahan, Iran, a village
* Kang, Kerman, Iran, a village
* Kang, Razavi Khorasan, Iran, a village
* Kham ...
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Sin Yong-chol
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
Kim Chang-yop
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...