Choe Yong-gon (; 21 June 1900 – 19 September 1976) was the Supreme Commander 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 ...

from 1948 to 1950, North Korean defence minister from 1948 to 1957, and the

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 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 ...

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

from 1957 to 1972.

Early life and education

Choe was born in

Taechon County T'aechŏn County or Thaechŏn County (''in North Korean romanization'') is a ''kun'', or county, in central North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It borders Taegwan and Tongch'ang to the north, Unsan and Nyŏngbyŏn to the east, Pakch'ŏn ...

(태천군, ) in

North Pyongan North Pyongan Province (Phyŏnganbukto; , also spelled North P'yŏngan), is a western province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former P'yŏng'an Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, the ...

, Korea, in 1900. He was educated at two

military academies A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

Career

Choe's first military deployment was to fight the Chinese

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

of 1927. He also took part in the Canton Communist riots in December later that year. He moved to Manchuria to form a guerrilla organization and military academy school to trained the anti-Japanese guerrilla army. Choe joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

and the

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 ...

in 1936. He led a guerrilla unit against the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

after they occupied

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

(

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 after the Japanese ...

) in September 1931. In 1940, Choe and his troops had fled to the Soviet-Manchurian border in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and participated with the 88th Independent Brigade of the

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 ...

. In 1945, he returned to Korea after Japan was defeated in

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1946, he became the chairman of the

Korean Democratic Party The Korean Social Democratic Party (KSDP) is a political party in North Korea, allied with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. It was formed on 3 November 1945 as the Korean Democratic Party by a diverse group of medium and small entrepreneurs ...

(KDP) and led this organization to a pro-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

course. He was, however, concurrently secretly a member of the ruling

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 tasked with keeping the KDP from becoming an independent political force. Afterwards, he came into more promotions and by February 1948, he was appointed the

Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국무력 최고사령관) is the commander-in-chief of the Korean People's Army, the military of North Korea. The off ...

. When the

Democratic People's Republic of 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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

was established in Pyongyang on September 9, 1948, he was appointed the Minister of National Security. He was in fact the senior field commander for all the North Korean armies during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, from the first invasion of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in June 1950 till 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 S ...

was signed in July 1953. In 1953, Choe was promoted to

Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

and was made the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

. In September 1957, he was removed from his position as Minister of Defense and made the

President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly The chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (), formerly known as the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Ko ...

, a largely ceremonial position. In this post, he was North Korea's nominal

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

. He was appointed as

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

by the

in 1972 and he left the office in 1974. He died in Pyongyang in 1976. Following his death he was given a state funeral.

Personal life

In his memoirs,

Hwang Jang-yop Hwang Jang-yop ( ko, 황장엽; 17 February 192310 October 2010) was a North Korean politician who served as the Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1972–1983 and was largely responsible for crafting ''Juche'', the state ideology o ...

, a former

chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly The Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly () is the presiding officer of the Supreme People's Assembly, the legislature of North Korea.Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Article 94 The Supreme People's As ...

who defected to

said Choe was famous for being very hard to have close relations with, but in reality he was not that strict."Seeds of Juche Sown by Sino-Soviet Split", Hwang Jang Yop's memories In 1970 there were reports of his deteriorating health, and after attending in November 1970 the KWP Congress and retaining his Vice-Marshal position, he departed for treatment in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

Works

* * * *

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Choe, Yong-gon 1900 births 1976 deaths North Korean atheists Korean communists People from Taechon County Korean Social Democratic Party politicians Heads of state of North Korea Vice presidents of North Korea North Korean generals North Korean military personnel of the Korean War Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Won-bong Defence ministers of North Korea Vice Chairmen of the Workers' Party of Korea and its predecessors 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 People of 88th Separate Rifle Brigade

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Works

See also

References