Kim Su-gil (, born 1950) is a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n general and politician. He was the director of the

General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army The General Political Bureau (GPB) is a department of the Ministry of Defence, used by the leadership of the North Korean government to exert political control over the Korean People's Army (KPA). The GPB operates under the direction of the Centr ...

(KPA) from when he replaced Kim Jong-gak in May 2018 until January 2021. Since 1 January 2023, he is the Chief Secretary of the Pyongyang WPK Committee.

Career

Kim Su-gil is a career soldier. In his early career, he held posts in the

(KPA) and its General Staff Department. On 24 April 1992 he was promoted to the rank of '' sojang'' (Major General). On 15 April 2010 he was promoted to '' chungjang'' (Lieutenant General). In the Autumn of 2013 he was temporarily demoted to ''sojang'' again, like many other high-ranking KPA soldiers. He currently holds a rank of four-star general. Kim became a vice director of the

Ministry of People's Armed Forces The Ministry of Defence (, formerly 인민무력성/人民武力省 or Ministry of the People's Armed Forces) is the government agency under the State Affairs Commission tasked with general administrative and logistical coordination of the Kor ...

in 2006. He also served as the Vice Minister of People's Armed Forces since 2010. From this post, he was involved in the purge and execution of

Jang Song-thaek Jang Song-thaek (January or February 1946 – 12 December 2013) was a North Korean politician. He was married to Kim Kyong-hui, the only daughter of North Korean premier Kim Il Sung and his first wife Kim Jong Suk, and only sister of North Kor ...

in December 2013. Kim is a close aide of

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

and often accompanies him in public functions. Kim has previously served as the Chairman of the Pyongyang City Committee of the Worker's Party from April 2014 to 2018 when he was replaced by Ri Man-gon. In this post, soon after his appointment, he issued a public apology following a building collapse in the city. He was elected to the

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 ...

(SPA) in 2009 election and again in 2014 election. Kim has served as a full member of 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 ...

and an alternate member of the

Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea In North Korea, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), or simply the Politburo, formerly the Political Committee (1946–61), is the highest decision-making body in the ruling party between sessions ...

since May 2016. He is also on the

Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) () is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which heads the Korean People's Army (KPA). One of the CMC's primary functions is to authorize ...

. Kim served on the funeral committees of Jon Pyong-ho in 2014,

Ri Ul-sol Ri Ul-sol (; 14 September 1921 – 7 November 2015) was a Politics of North Korea, North Korean politician and military official. He played an important role in the administrations of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, achieving the rank of Wonsu, ma ...

and

Kim Yang-gon Kim Yang-gon (, 24 April 1942 – 29 December 2015) was a North Korean politician and a senior official of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Early career Kim Yang-gon started his political career as a vice-director of the party's Internation ...

in 2015, and Kang Sok-ju in 2016. In April 2018, Kim was elected a member of the SPA Presidium. Kim Su-gil replaced Kim Jong-gak in May 2018 as the director of the

. North Korean media announced the reshuffle in May 2018, after Kim Jong-gak had served for merely four months. It is possible that the appointment took place on 17 May at a meeting of the

chaired by Kim Jong-un. At a personnel reshuffle at the First Session of the 14th SPA Kim lost his seat in the presidium but was elevated to a member of the

State Affairs Commission of North Korea The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is constitutionally the supreme political authority of North Korea. The State Affairs Commission was created by 2016 amendments to the Socialist Constitution of the ...

References

External links

Biography
at North Korea Leadership Watch {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Su-gil Living people 1950 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) North Korean generals Members of the Supreme People's Assembly Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List