O Kum-chol ( ko, 오금철; born February 24, 1947) is an

army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...

and politician in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (

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 ...

). He is a vice-chief of the General Staff Department 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 ...

and a member of the

Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) () is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which is responsible for coordinating the Party organizations within the ...

. His father, O Baek-ryong, was the former director of the General Escort Bureau. His brother, O Chol-san, is a political member of the Naval Command of the Korean People's Army.

Biography

O graduated from

Red Flag 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 ...

, joined the

Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force The Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍航空 및 反航空軍 ) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated ...

and served as an air force pilot. After graduating from Kim Chaek Air Force Academy and the Soviet Air Force Academy, he became Chief of Staff of the 7th Air Force Division in 1984 and became Deputy Commander of the 3rd Air Force in April 1987 (Chair). In 1990, he served as the commander of the 3rd Air Force in the rank of Major General. From 1991 to 1992, he served as the first commander of the Air Force and Anti-Air Command. After being promoted to Lieutenant General of the Korean People's Army in April 1992, he was promoted to the Colonel General of the Korean People's Army in October 1995 and appointed to the Air Force Commander. In April 2008, he resigned from command of the Air Force. Currently, he is Vice-Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army. In September 2010, he was elected to the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, the ...

. In 1990, he was elected to the 9th convocation of 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 ...

. At the time of the death of

Jo Myong-rok Jo Myong-lok (12 July 1928 – 6 November 2010) was a North Korean military officer who held the military rank Chasu (Vice Marshal). In 1998, he was appointed First Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea, Director ...

in 2010 and

death of Kim Jong-il The death of Kim Jong-il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011. The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area ou ...

in 2011, he was a member of the funeral committee.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O, Kum-chol Members of the Supreme People's Assembly North Korean generals Alternate members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 1947 births Living people