Ri Yong-gil

In this Korean name, the family name is Ri.
Vice Marshal
Ri Yong-gil
리영길
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
31 December 2022
ChairmanKim Jong Un
Preceded byPak Jong-chon
Chief of the General Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 August 2023
Preceded byPark Su-il
In office
August 2013 – January 2016
Preceded byKim Kyok-sik
Succeeded byRi Myong-su
In office
4 June 2018 – 6 September 2019
Preceded byRi Myong-su
Succeeded byPak Jong-chon
Minister of Defence
In office
29[citation needed] September 2021 – 28 December 2022
Preceded byKim Jong-gwan
Succeeded byKang Sun-nam
Minister of Social Security
In office
January 2021 – July 2021
Preceded byKim Jong-ho
Succeeded byKim Jong-ho
Personal details
Born1952 (age 71–72)
North Korea
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
Military service
AllegianceKorean People's Army
Branch/serviceKorean People's Army Ground Force
Years of service1969–present
RankCh'asu (Vice Marshal)
Commands
  • 3rd Army Corps 2002 to 2007
  • 5th Army Corps 2007 to 2012
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
리영길
Hancha
李永吉
Revised RomanizationI Yeonggil
McCune–ReischauerRi Yŏnggil

Ri Yong-gil (Korean: 리영길, born 1952[1]) is a North Korean military officer who is currently a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Chief of the General Staff.

Career

Ri was made a Lieutenant General in April 2002 and given command of the forward-deployed 3rd Army Corps from 2002 to 2007, and later the 5th Army Corps from 2007 to 2012.[2][3] He was believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013.[4]

He was promoted to Colonel General (Sangjang) and elected an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2010.[2] He was promoted to chief of the General Staff Operations Bureau in late 2012, in charge of coordinating KPA corps commanders and reporting to the chief of General Staff and the Supreme Command.[citation needed]

Ri was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army in August 2013[5] as well as promoted to general around the same time.

Ri (right) at the 2019 Kim–Putin meeting

In early February 2016, the South Korean news agency Yonhap News Agency reported that Ri had recently been executed on charges of corruption and forming a political faction.[6][7][8] The unconfirmed rumour was widely circulated in mass media,[9] but it was announced during the May 2016 Party Congress that Ri had been appointed a member of the Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers’ Party, as well as its Central Military Commission. General Ri was named an alternate member of the Politburo.[10] As of April 2017, state media identified Ri as first deputy chief of the General Staff and director of the General Operations Bureau of the Korean People's Army.[11] On the 27th of July 2018 KCNA reported that the general was again promoted to 4 star general and again Chief of the General Staff of Korean People Army,[12] until 2019. After that he served as a party department director.

He was reelected to the Politburo following the 8th Party Congress in January 2021 as the new minister of Social Security. He was later moved to minister of Defense, joining also the State Affairs Commission in September of the same year.

On 14 April 2022, he was promoted to Vice Marshal of the KPA by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.[13] On 31 December 2022, he was appointed as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, replacing Pak Jong-chon.[14] He was also reappointed as the Chief of the General Staff on 10 August 2023, succeeding Park Su-il.[15]

Sanctions

On 22 March 2021, the Council of the European Union imposed a set of restrictive measures against Ri giving the reason for listing: "As Head of the Ministry of Social Security, Ri Yong Gil is responsible for serious human rights violations in the DPRK, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, enforced disappearance of persons, and arbitrary arrests or detentions, as well as widespread forced labour and sexual violence against women."[16]

Awards and honors

A picture of Ri shows him wearing the ribbons of all decorations awarded to him.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Gen. Ri Yong Gil". North Korea Leadership Watch. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b Gause, Ken E. (9 September 2013). "North Korean Leadership Dynamics and Decision-making under Kim Jong-un" (PDF). Center for Naval Analyses. p. 26. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  3. ^ Lim, Andy (21 April 2014). "Kim Jong-un's New Entourage" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2015. Alt URL
  4. ^ "North Korea leader may have replaced army chief: Analysts". Straits Times. Agence France Presse. 30 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  5. ^ Ryall, Julian (30 August 2013). "Kim Jong-un purges North Korea's army chief". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  6. ^ Withnall, Adam (10 February 2016). "Kim Jong-un has reportedly just executed the chief of his own military". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  7. ^ "North Korea 'executes' army chief of staff Ri Yong-gil". BBC News. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  8. ^ "North Korea 'executes chief of staff Ri Yong-gil', according to reports". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 10 February 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  9. ^ Gale, Alastair (10 May 2016). "North Korean General, Reported Executed, Appears to Be Alive". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  10. ^ Sang-Hun, Choe (10 May 2016). "North Korean General, Thought to Be Executed, Resurfaces". New York Times. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Newstream".
  12. ^ "Yonhap News Agency".
  13. ^ "Rank of KPA Vice-Marshal Conferred on Ri Yong Gil". Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  14. ^ "North Korea Reorganizes Top Leadership as Kim Vows to Build More Nuclear Weapons". Bloomberg.com. 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  15. ^ Staff (2023-08-10). "Kim Jong-un fires North Korea's top general and calls for weapons production boost". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  16. ^ "EUR-Lex - 02020R1998-20210322 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  17. ^ https://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times (10 May 2016). "Ri Yong-gil, North Korean general thought to be executed, is actually alive". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2023-01-10. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Social Security
2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of National Defence
2021–2022 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff Operations Bureau
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
2013–2016 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
2018–2019 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
2023–present 		Incumbent

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