Ri Thae-sop ( ko, 리태섭) is 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 politician and general. He served as Minister of Social Security and is serving since June 2022 as

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 ...

. He is also a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

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 o ...

. He served as Commander of the 5th Corps and Commander of the 7th Corps.

Biography

Ri's birthplace and date of birth are unknown. In April 2004, he was promoted to Major General of the Korean People's Army, and in September 2010, he was elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea at the 3rd party conference. Following the death of

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 ...

on December 17, 2011, was included as a member of the funeral commission. He was re-elected as a representative to the 13th convocation of the Supreme People's Assembly held on March 9, 2014, and was appointed as the commander of the 7th Corps as a Lieutenant General of the Korean People's Army, although the date of his appointment is unknown. He was re-elected as a member of the Central Committee

7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea, was held on 6–9 May 2016. Background The 7th Congress was the first Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held since the 6th Congress in 1980. In ...

in May 2016. He was re-elected as a deputy in the 14th election of the Supreme People's Assembly held in March 2019 and was present at the

military parade A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea held on October 10, 2020, marching with the 5th Corps column as a general. He was re-elected as a member of the Central Committee at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held from January 5, 2021, and at the 4th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee held from December 27 of the same year, he was appointed Minister of Social Security and was elected as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee. On June 11, 2022, at the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea he was promoted to Chief of the General Staff of the People's Army, replacing

Rim Kwang-il Rim Kwang-il ( ko, 림광일; born 1965) is a North Korean general and politician who served as 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 a ...

.Kim urges stronger national defense; no new direct message on US, S. Korea
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References

{{North Korean generals Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Workers' Party of Korea politicians Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea North Korean generals