Kim Yong-chol

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In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.

General of the Army
Kim Yong-chol
File:Kim Yong Chol 2019.jpg
Kim in January 2019
Head of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office
2021 – 11 June 2022
Preceded byJang Kum Chol
Succeeded byRi Son-gwon
In office
4 January 2016 – 2019
Preceded byKim Yang-gon
Succeeded byJang Kum Chol
Vice Chairman
of the Workers' Party of Korea
In office
9 May 2016 – 10 January 2021
ChairmanKim Jong Un
Preceded byHwang Pyong-so
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Director of the
Reconnaissance General Bureau
In office
11 February 2009 – 4 January 2016
Supreme LeaderKim Jong Il
Kim Jong Un
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byPak Yong-sik (Acting)
Personal details
Born1946 (age 79–80)
Ryanggang Province, Soviet occupied Korea
PartyWorkers' Party of Korea
Education
Military service
AllegianceFile:Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea
BranchFile:Flag of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (Normal).svg Korean People's Army
RankFile:General of the Army rank insignia (North Korea).svg General
Korean name
Hangul
김영철
[1]
Hanja
金英徹
RRGim Yeongcheol
MRKim Yŏngch'ŏl

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Kim Yong-chol (Korean: Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.; born 1946[1]) is a North Korean general and politician.

From February 2009 to January 2016 he was the director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the country's primary intelligence service.[2] From 2016 to 2019, and again from 2021 to 2022, he served as the head of the United Front Department of the Workers' Party of Korea. He also served as the vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea for South Korean affairs from 2016 to 2021.

Early life

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Kim Yong-chol was born in 1946 in Ryanggang Province.[1]

Career

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Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1. In 1962 he served in the 15th Division, a civil police company guarding the Korean Demilitarized Zone. In 1968 he was appointed a liaison officer to the United Nations Command, Military Armistice Commission, Korea. 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 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. 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 and the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was a member of the funeral committee of Jo Myong-rok. In 2011, he was a member of the funeral committee of Kim Jong Il. Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.

File:A letter from North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.jpg
Kim delivering a letter from Chairman Kim to US President Trump in the Oval Office on June 1.

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.

In May 2016, he was elected to the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. He was elected as a member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea 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 and Ryu Mi-yong, and he was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.[3]

Kim was sent as part of North Korea's Olympic delegation to the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics 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.[4]

On 30 May 2018, Kim flew to New York City via China for talks with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo regarding the 2018 North Korea–United States summit. He was hosted at a residential facility of the US delegation to the United Nations for highly "private" conversations with US counterparts.[5] He then visited the White House for talks with the US President, Donald Trump on 1 June. During this meeting, he delivered a letter to Trump from Kim Jong Un.[6] Because he is subject to US sanctions, the visit required a travel waiver.[7]

On 24 April 2019, Yonhap News Agency reported that North Korea has removed Kim Yong-chol from the head of the United Front Department.[8]

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.[9] Also prior to the article on 24 June 2020, Kim Yong-chol condemned remarks by the South Korean defence minister when he called for "mutual efforts" to reduce tensions between the two Koreas.[10]

In June 2023, he was appointed an adviser of the United Front Department.[11]

Awards and honours

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A picture of Kim shows him wearing the ribbons to all decorations awarded to him.[12]

File:PRK Order of Kim Il Sung BAR.png File:PRK Order of Kim Il Sung BAR.png
File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg
File:FreedomAndIndependence1Ribbon.jpg File:DPRK Order of Labor.png File:DPRK Order of Labor.png
File:DPRK 20th Anniversary Order.png File:DPRK 20th Anniversary Order.png File:DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 1st Class.png
File:PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png File:PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png File:PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png
File:DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 2nd Class.png File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of Soldier's Honor 1st Class.svg File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg
File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg File:DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg
File:Commemorative Medal Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ribbon.gif File:DPRK Military Merit Medal.png File:DPRK Military Merit Medal.png
File:DPRK Military Merit Medal.png File:DPRK Military Merit Medal.png File:DPRK ribbon bar - Fatherland Liberation War Participation Commemoration Medal 1950-1953.svg

References

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  1. ^ a b c Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  2. ^ What the new photos of North Korea's leaders say. BBC News, 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  3. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  4. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  5. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  6. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  7. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  8. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  9. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
  10. ^ Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter exited with status 1.
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