Choe Yong-jin ( (1911-1998) was a North Korean politician and general. He belonged to the Manchu faction. He served as
Vice Premier of North Korea
The Vice Premier of the Cabinet assists the Premier of North Korea in guiding the work of the Cabinet of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Deputy Prime Minister of North Korea.
Current vice premiers
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...
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
. In November 1936, he became commander of the 1st Division, 1st Division, 7th Army of the
Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army
The Northeast Counter-Japanese United Army, also known as the NAJUA or Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, was the main Counter-Japanese guerrilla army in Northeast China (Manchuria) after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Its prede ...
. In 1939, he became the commander of the 2nd Route Army 2nd Detachment Guidance Battalion. In April 1940, he became commander of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Detachment, 2nd Route Army and in 1941, commander of the 2nd Route Army 2nd Detachment 1st Battalion Commander. In February 1944, he escaped from the Japanese army and entered the territory of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
On September 19, 1945, members of the 88th Brigade boarded the Soviet
cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
‘Pugachev’ and entered the port of Wonsan with Choe among them. Immediately after returning home, Kim Il-sung instructed the members, After the war, he returned to Japan and participated in the creation of the North Korean army. In July 1946, he became Vice Military Principal of the Central Security Command School. In December 1946, he became commander (colonel) of the 5th Regiment, 2nd Division. In September 1948 he commanded the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division. In December of the same year, he became the principal of the First Central Military Academy. In March 1950 he was appointed the commander of the 13th Division.
When the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
broke out, he participated in the invasion of the South. He is also said to have been shot and wounded during an argument with the chief of staff of the division, Colonel Lee Hak-gu, during the First Battle of Naktong Bulge. October 1950 he was appointed as 6th Corps Commander. In May 1952, he became Commander of the 5th Corps, and from October 1955, Commander of the 2nd Corps. In April 1956 he was nominated as a candidate (non-voting) member for the WPK Central Committee during the 3rd Party Congress. In June 1958, he became commander of the 2nd Group Army. That same year, he became commander of the
North Korean Air Force
The Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAF; ; Hanja: 朝鮮人民軍 空軍) is the unified military aviation force of North Korea. It is the second largest branch of the Korean People's Army comprising an estimated 110,000 members.Minister of State Security. In September 1961, at the 4th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea he was elected a member of the Central Committee. In 1962 he became Minister of Fisheries and in February 1964, head of the Railway Transportation Commission. In July of the same year he was appointed a deputy prime minister of North Korea. In November 1970, at the 5th Congress of the WPK he was elected member of the Central Committee. In 1980, at the 6th Congress, he was re-elected to the WPK Central Committee.