Nam Il (5 June 1915 – 7 March 1976) was a Russian-born North Korean military officer and co-signer of the

Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...

Biography

Nam was born Yakov Petrovich Nam in the Russian Far East. Due to a Soviet policy, Nam's family, like many Koreans in Russia's Far East, were moved to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. He was educated at

Smolensk Military School Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First me ...

and in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. Nam achieved his final rank of captain as an Assistant to ta Division Chief of Staff of a

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He took part in some of the greatest battles, including

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

and the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

. When not serving in the military, he worked in the education sector. In 1946, he was sent to Soviet occupied North Korea, as a member of a contingent of ethnic Korean former Soviet military officers to assist

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 ...

, leaving behind a wife and daughter in Soviet Union. After war broke out in 1950 he was appointed Chief of Staff, replacing Kang Kon who had been killed in action. In 1953, Nam became a General of the Army (대장, three-star rank at the time). When 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 ...

reached a stalemate in July 1951, Nam served as the Communists' chief delegate at the armistice talks. He was famous for using an amber

cigarette holder A cigarette holder is a fashion accessory, a slender tube in which a cigarette is held for smoking. Most frequently made of silver, jade or bakelite (popular in the past but now wholly replaced by modern plastics), cigarette holders were consid ...

. After the war, Nam Il served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Along with another Soviet Korean Pak Chong-ae, he worked to help

break free from Soviet influence. In 1957, he was promoted and became one of several deputy Prime Ministers. Nam, along with

Pang Hak-se Pang Hak-se ( ko, 방학세) (方學世, born 1914 - died 18 July 1992) was a politician from North Korea. After the formal establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he was held various position in the North Korean Government i ...

(the founder of the

DPRK North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

secret police), was one of only a few prominent Soviet Koreans who survived the purges of the 1950s. On 7 March 1976, it was announced that he had died when his car was crushed by a truck. Many suspected that this was not an accident, and some blamed

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

, who by that time was not powerful enough to simply order Nam be killed. Others said that it was done by Kim Il-sung. Nam Il's son, who lived in the Soviet Union, visited North Korea and attempted to investigate, but Pang Hak-se told him to go home and stop interfering in affairs which did not concern him. Nam was awarded a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

and was buried in

Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery Taesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery () is a cemetery and memorial to the North Korean soldiers fighting for freedom and independence against Japanese rule. It is located near the top of Mount Taesong (Taesongsan) in the Taesong-guyŏk ...

. Unlike some of his colleagues who were purged, Nam continues to appear in historical photographs.

Awards

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

, 2nd Class

Citations

References

* Futrell, Robert F. (1961).''The United States Air Force in Korea 1950-1953''. Air Force History and Museums Program year 2000 reprint of original Duel, Sloan and Pearce edition. ISBNs 0160488796, 978–0160488795. *

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nam, Il North Korean generals North Korean military personnel of the Korean War Foreign ministers of North Korea North Korean atheists North Korean communists 1915 births 1976 deaths People from North Hamgyong Road incident deaths in North Korea Soviet people of Korean descent Soviet military personnel of World War II Members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 2nd Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 3rd Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 4th Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 5th Supreme People's Assembly Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta