General Choe Pu-il (; born 6 March 1944) is a North Korean politician who served as head of North Korea's

Ministry of People's Security The Ministry of Social Security (previously known as the Ministry of People's Security from 2000 to 2020) is the interior ministry and principal law enforcement agency within North Korea. The ministry serves as the official public and internal s ...

Biography

In April 1992, he was promoted to major general and to general in October 1995. After serving as Deputy Chief of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

in the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Korean People's Army Ground Force, Ground Force, the Ko ...

, he served as First Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations of the General Staff. He became a member of the

Central Military Commission Central Military Commission may refer to: *Central Military Commission (China), the highest national defense organization in the People's Republic of China. *Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the highest body in Vietnam ...

of the Party at the

3rd Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea The 3rd Conference of the Workers' Party of Korea was held in Pyongyang on September 28, 2010. The meeting elected the highest authority of the Workers' Party of Korea, and revised the party charter. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il also attended th ...

held in September 2010. In the same month, along with Kim Jong Un,

Kim Kyong-hui Kim Kyong-hui (; born 30 May 1946) is the aunt of current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong Il. She currently serves as Secretary f ...

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (; born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, hol ...

, and

Hyon Yong-chol Hyon Yong-chol (; January 11, 1949 – possibly executed April 30, 2015) was a North Korean general and Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, he was reportedly removed from his p ...

, he received the military rank of

General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

. He served as a commander at the April 2012 servicing ceremony, where Kim Jong Un gave his first speech. He was appointed to the Minister of People's Security in February 2013 by Kim Jong Un and was elected as a candidate for the Central Committee full meeting on March 31, 2013. He was elected as a member of the National Defense Commission. He was elected delegate in the election to the 13th

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

. On May 17, it was reported that he had visited a site of a collapsed high-rise apartment in the Pyongyang area of Pyongyang City and apologized to the bereaved family members and residents along with senior government officials. In December of the same year, it was confirmed that Choi had been demoted to major general. In October 2015, it was confirmed that Choi was again promoted to a general rank. In July 2016, he was placed under sanctions by the United States government. In February 2020 he was replaced by Kim Jong-ho. On August 20, 2020, it was reported that he is now in charge of handling military affairs for the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea is the Central committee, highest organ between National meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea, national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. Accor ...

Awards and honors

The official portrait of Choe shows Choe wearing all decorations awarded to him.

References

Living people Government ministers of North Korea Law enforcement in North Korea 1944 births Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea People from North Hamgyong Province People from Hoeryong {{NorthKorea-mil-bio-stub