Ri Tu-ik ( ko, 리두익/李斗益; born 1921 in Jilin, China - died March 13, 2002, in Pyongyang) was a North Korean politician 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 ...

and Vice-Marshal 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 S ...

, who was 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 ...

Biography

Ri Tu-ik joined Kim Il-sung's partisan struggle in the late 1930s and was part of his security escort. After training in guerrilla warfare in northeast China, as a member of the 88th Special Reconnaissance Brigade (russian: 88-я отдельная стрелковая бригада) of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, he led reconnaissance missions against the Japanese occupation forces in Jilin and North Hamgyong Province. In 1945 he was first platoon leader and then in 1948 company commander in the security escort of Kim Il-sung. During 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 ...

, known in North Korea as "Victorious Liberation of the Fatherland", Ri was commander of a battalion in 1951 and then completed military training between 1954 and 1958 in the areas of joint warfare and special operations in the Soviet Union. On his return in 1958 he became commander of the 3rd regiment and later deputy commander of the 9th Division, before being appointed commander of the 9th Division in 1962. On October 8, 1962, he was also elected for the first time as a deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly. In 1963 he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed head of the operations department of the General Staff of the

. He then acted as the commanding general of the VII Army Corps between 1965 and 1973 and was an adviser to the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

between 1967 and 1968. At the end of the 1968s Ri Tu-ik had a significant share in purges within the Korean People's Army and was promoted to Colonel General in 1968. At the fifth party congress of the WPK in 1970 he became a member of the WPK Central Committee for the first time. After he was the commander of the 2nd Army Group between 1973 and 1976, he served as the commanding general of the 2nd Army Corps from 1977 to 1980 and then became the commanding general of the 4th Army Corps in 1980. On the 6th party congress, which took place in Pyongyang from October 10–14, 1980, he was also elected a member of the Central Military Commission. He was promoted to general in 1985 and served as commanding general of the

Pyongyang Defense Command The Pyongyang Defence Command ( ko, 평양방위사령부), also known as the Pyongyang Defense Corps is a military area and corps of the Korean People's Army based out of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. The PDC is composed of 70,000 ...

from the late 1980s to 1992. Ri was promoted to Vice Marshal on April 20, 1992 and remained active in political life as a member of the Central Military Commission and Kim Jong-il's adviser even after the death of

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 ...

and his son Kim Jong-il's ascending to power in 1994. After undergoing medical treatment in the People's Republic of China in 1997, he ceased to appear in public after 1999. He died death on March 13, 2002, and was buried on March 15, 2002, in the

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 ...

on Mount Taesongsan.''Weekly Report on North Korea''
(25. März 2002)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ri, Tu-ik North Korean generals Workers' Party of Korea politicians Korean communists North Korean expatriates in the Soviet Union North Korean military personnel of the Korean War 1921 births 2002 deaths People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade