Ri Yong-suk (, 17 April 1916 – November 2021) was a North Korean politician and revolutionary. A veteran of the

anti-Japanese struggle The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which w ...

, Ri had close relations with all three generations of the Kim dynasty. During WWII, she was with

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 ...

in the Soviet

88th Separate Rifle Brigade The 88th Separate Rifle Brigade (, , ), also known as the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces Teaching Brigade or the 88th International Brigade, was an international military unit of the Red Army created during World War II. It was unique in t ...

. 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 ...

, she took care 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 ...

, eldest son and future heir of

. Under

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's secon ...

, she was portrayed as a link between the original guerrilla generation and the current leadership. Ri was elected 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 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

Early life and Kim family

Ri Yong-suk was born on 17 April 1916. Ri fought as a guerrilla during the

. 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 ...

, she was a member of the Soviet

, to which

was also attached. According to Kim, in his 1992 autobiography ''

With the Century ''Reminiscences: With the Century'' () is the autobiography of Kim Il-sung, founder and former president of North Korea. The memoirs, written in 1992 and published in eight volumes, retell Kim's life story through his childhood to the time of K ...

'', Ri was married to An Yong: Kim also wrote that Ri was trained as a radio operator. Speaking of her guerrilla days, she remembered both Kim's wife

Kim Jong-suk Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917Suh Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. – 22 September 1949) was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il ...

and the birth of their son

. Ri "recollected that Kim Jong Suk provided noble tradition of devotedly defending the leader and gave birth to General Secretary Kim Jong Il in the days of hard-fought anti-Japanese struggle, thus guaranteeing the brilliant future of Korea", and that: In reality, Kim Jong Il was born in a military camp in the Soviet Union. During the

, Ri took care of

. The two met often throughout Kim's life and career. Kim had even been seen embracing Ri, although he was known to rarely physically express affection. North Korean propaganda put effort in showing Ri in close terms with

. The message is that Ri passed down lived guerrilla experience to Kim Jong Un. In 2016, she was noted as being one of the few remaining female guerrilla (

Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army The Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army was the main anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Its predecessors were various anti-Japanese volunteer armies organized by locals ...

) leaders.

Political career

After the

liberation of Korea The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, she became the chairwoman of the management committee of a cooperative farm in

Yonsan County Yŏnsan County is a county in North Hwanghae province, North Korea. Administrative divisions Yŏnsan county is divided into 1 ''Administrative divisions of North Korea, ŭp'' (town), 1 ''Administrative divisions of North Korea, rodongjagu'' (wor ...

North Hwanghae Province North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is Sari ...

. Ri was elected to the

and

Later life and death

She was awarded the

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Победы в Великой Отечественной войне 1941–1945 гг.») is a state commemorativ ...

on 6 May 2015 by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and Jubilee Medal "75 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" on 6 May 2020. Ri was on the funeral committees of

Kim Chol-man Kim Chol-man (김철만; 2 November 1920 – 3 December 2018) was a North Korean politician and military official. He was a member of several important committees and organizations, including the 6th Central Military Commission, the 6th Politb ...

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (리을설; 14 September 19217 November 2015) was a North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, achieving the rank of Marshal of the Korean People's ...

, and

Hwang Sun-hui Hwang Sun-hui (; 3 May 1919 – 17 January 2020) was a North Korean politician who served in several high-ranking positions in the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), including in the Supreme People's Assembly and the Central Committee of the WPK ...

. She was awarded the

Order of Kim Il Sung The Order of Kim Il Sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong Il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il Sung, was instituted in ...

Order of Kim Jong Il The Order of Kim Jong Il () is a North Korean order named after Kim Jong Il, the former leader of North Korea. It is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Il-Sung, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour ...

, and Hero of Labor, and also received a birthday spread sent from Kim Jong Un on the occasion of her 105th birthday. Ri died in November 2021, at the age of 105. Kim Jong Un visited her grave later that same month at 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, ...

Mount Taesong Taesŏngsan is a mountain in Taesong-guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea. It has an elevation of . One popular visitor attraction on Taesŏngsan is the outdoor ice rink. Others include the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery and the Korea Central Zoo. In ...

on 15 November to lay a wreath.President of State Affairs Kim Jong Un sends wreath to bier of late Ri Yong-suk
kcnawatch.org. Accessed 28 May 2023.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ri, Yong-suk 1916 births 2021 deaths Place of birth missing 20th-century North Korean women politicians 20th-century North Korean politicians Female military personnel Military personnel of the Second Sino-Japanese War North Korean centenarians North Korean military personnel 21st-century North Korean women politicians 21st-century North Korean politicians Soviet military personnel of World War II Women centenarians People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade

Early life and Kim family

Political career

Later life and death

See also

References

Works cited