Kim Il-chol
Kim Il-chol in 1995
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
김일철
Hancha
Revised RomanizationKim Il-cheol
McCune–ReischauerKim Ilch'ŏl

Kim Il-chol (김일철, 1933 – September 2023) was a North Korean military officer who was a member of the National Defence Commission[1] and Minister for Defence.[2]

Kim was born in Pyongyang in 1933.[3] He graduated from Mangyongdae Revolutionary School and the Soviet Union Naval Academy.[3] Although the North Korean Army mainly depends on ground troops, Admiral Kim, who was commander of the Korean People's Navy since 1982,[4] was in 1998 installed in the highest military position, the Minister of the People's Armed Forces. This filled a vacancy left by Choe Kwang, who died in February 1997, and indicated that he was fully trusted by Kim Jong-Il. Kim Il-chol participated as a senior delegate in the inter-Korean defense minister’s meeting held for the first time since the division of the Korean peninsula in September 2000.[5]

Kim was appointed to the National Defence Commission in 1988. He was removed from all positions in 2010, reportedly due to his advanced age.[1]

Kim was a member of the Korea-China Association for Civil Exchange Promotion.[6]

Kim was awarded the Hero of the Republic, Order of Kim Il-sung, and the Order of the National Flag (1st Class).[7]

Kim died in September 2023, at the age of 90.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Kim, Sam (14 May 2010). "N. Korea announces removal of senior official citing age". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  2. ^ Branford, Becky (16 January 2009). "Who will succeed N Korea's Kim Jong-il?". BBC News. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Kim Il-chol". KBS World Radio. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  4. ^ Gause, Ken E. (2006). North Korean Civil-Military Trends: Military-First Politics to a Point (PDF). Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute. pp. 21–22. ISBN 1-58487-257-8.
  5. ^ Lim Jae-hyoung (2002). "The Power Hierarchy: North Korean Foreign Policy-Making Process" (PDF). East Asian Review. 14 (2): 89–106. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Manoeuvres to Concoct "Human Rights Virus" Are Doomed to Failure". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (North Korea). Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ "북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  8. ^ 북한 김일철 전 인민무력부장 '신미리애국열사릉'에 안장 (in Korean)


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