Kim Yong-chol (; born 1946) 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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n general and politician who currently serves as

Vice 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

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 ...

for South Korean affairs and head of the United Front Department. From February 2009 to January 2016 he was the director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the country's primary intelligence service. On 24 April 2019,

Yonhap News Agency Yonhap News Agency is a major South Korean news agency. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea. History Yonhap (, , translit. ' ...

reported that North Korea has removed Kim Yong-chol from the head of the United Front Department.

Early life

Kim Yong-chol was born in 1946 in

Ryanggang Province Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryangg ...

Career

In 1962 he served in the 15th Division, a civil police company guarding the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...

. In 1968 he was appointed a liaison officer to the

United Nations Command, Military Armistice Commission, Korea The United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC) was established in July 1953 at the end of the Korean War to supervise the Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전� ...

. In 1976, he was made a division commander of the Supreme Guard Command. In 1990 he was promoted to Major General and became deputy director of the

Ministry of People's Armed Forces The Ministry of Defence (, formerly 인민무력성/人民武力省 or Ministry of the People's Armed Forces) is the government agency tasked with general administrative and logistical coordination of the Korean People's Army (KPA). Prior to 1992, ...

and director of the MPAF Reconnaissance Bureau. In 1998 he was elected as a deputy to the 10th Supreme People's Assembly and again in 2003 to the 11th. In 2009, he was appointed director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau and Vice-Chief of the

General Staff Department of the Korean People's Army The General Staff Department (GSD) of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is the senior military leadership of the armed forces of North Korea responsible for its administrative, operational and logistical needs. The current Chief of the General Staff ...

. He was also elected as a deputy to the 12th Supreme People's Assembly. In 2010, he was promoted to Colonel-General and elected to 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 ...

and the 6th

. He was a member of the funeral committee 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 2011, he was a member of the funeral committee of Kim Jong-il. A letter from North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un

In 2012 he was promoted to General. In 2014, he was elected as a deputy to the 13th Supreme People's Assembly and served on the funeral committee of

Jon Pyong-ho Jon Pyong-ho (, 20 March 1926 – 7 July 2014) was a North Korean officer and politician who served as the Chief Secretary of the Korean Workers Party (KWP) Committee of the North Korean Cabinet, and director of the DPRK Cabinet Political Burea ...

. In May 2016, he was elected to the 7th

. He was elected as a member of the

Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea In North Korea, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), or simply the Politburo, formerly the Political Committee (1946–61), is the highest decision-making body in the ruling party between sessions ...

, the

and as Vice-Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was appointed director of the United Front Department and served on the funeral committees of

Kang Sok-ju Kang Sok-ju ( ko, 강석주; ; August 29, 1939 – May 20, 2016
on

and Ryu Mi-yong, and he was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. Kim was sent as part of North Korea's Olympic delegation to the closing ceremony of the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

held on 24 February 2018. His presence was controversial, mostly due to allegations that Kim was responsible for orchestrating an attack on a South Korean naval ship in 2010 that killed 46 sailors. An article in the ''Hangook Ilbo'' warned that Kim's attendance could send "raging waves" throughout the Korean Peninsula, but the games closed without incident. On 30 May 2018, Kim flew to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

via China for talks with

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

regarding the

2018 North Korea–United States summit Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

. He was hosted at a residential facility of the US delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

for highly "private" conversations with US counterparts. He then traveled to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

for talks with

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on 1 June. During this meeting, he delivered a letter to President Trump from Kim Jong-un. Because he is subject to US sanctions, the visit required a travel waiver. On 24 April 2019,

reported that North Korea has removed Kim Yong-chol from the head of the United Front Department. In July 2020, it was reported that Kim Yong-chol was mentioned in a Rodong Sinmun article in relation to North-South communications working with

Kim Yo-jong Kim Yo-jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat serving as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK. She also served as an alternate membe ...

. Also prior to the article on June 24, 2020, Kim Yong-chol condemned remarks by the South Korean defense minister when he called for "mutual efforts" to reduce tensions between the two Koreas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yong-chol North Korean generals Living people 21st-century North Korean people People from Ryanggang 1946 births Date of birth missing (living people) Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 8th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Vice Chairmen of the Workers' Party of Korea and its predecessors