Kim Yong-il (; born 2 May 1944) 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 politician who served as the

Premier of North Korea The Premier of the Cabinet () is the head of government of North Korea and a key adviser to the Supreme Leader of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Prime Minister of North Korea. The prime minister of North Korea is the h ...

from April 2007 to 7 June 2010. He was elected as Premier by the 5th session of the 11th

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 ...

(SPA) in April 2007, replacing

Pak Pong-ju Pak Pong-ju (; born 10 April 1939) is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from 2003 to 2007 and again from 2013 to 2019. He was elected a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in 2016. Earl ...

. He was then replaced by

Choe Yong-rim Choe Yong-rim (, born 20 November 1930) is a North Korean politician who served as the Premier of North Korea from June 2010 to April 2013 and was a member of the 6th Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea.

after a rare parliamentary session on 7 June 2010. He served in 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 1960 to 1969, and then graduated from the Rajin University of Marine Transport as a navigation officer. He worked as instructor and deputy director of a general bureau of the Ministry of Land and Marine Transport for 14 years. He was the Minister of Land and Marine Transport from 1994 until his election as Premier in 2007. He oversaw the construction of new facilities at the Ryongnam

Ship Repair Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

Factory near the western port of

Nampo Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth ...

, at the mouth of the

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthenin ...

. As Premier, Kim Yong-il was the head of government in the DPRK, which means he appointed ministers and vice-premiers, who were confirmed by the SPA, and he was also responsible for economic and domestic policy. Premier Kim's first major speech at the anniversary of the state's founding largely reinforced state ideology. However, on the economy, he carefully balanced demands for

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

with consumer goods, light industry, and agriculture: "We will firmly adhere to the socialist economic construction line of the military-first era and while developing the national defense industry first, we will vigorously ignite the flames of the agricultural revolution and the light industry revolution, thus the food problem and the issue of the people’s consumer goods should be smoothly resolved". This Kim Yong-il should not be confused with another Kim Yong-il (1955–2000?), the son of the late

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 half-brother 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 Ki ...

, who is said to have died in Germany in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Yong-il 1944 births Living people People from South Hamgyong Prime Ministers of North Korea Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea

See also

References