Ri Yong-gil (, born 1952) is a North Korean military officer who is currently a vice chairman of 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 ...

and the Chief of the General Staff.

Career

Ri was made a

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

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.Alt URL
/ref> He was believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013. He was promoted to

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

(Sangjang) and elected an alternate member of the Central Committee of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

in 2010. 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. Ri was appointed Chief of the General Staff of 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 ...

in August 2013 as well as promoted to general around the same time. In early February 2016, the South Korean news agency

Yonhap News Agency Yonhap News Agency (; ) is a major news agency in South Korea. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures, and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea. History Yonhap was esta ...

reported that Ri had recently been executed on charges of corruption and forming a political faction. The unconfirmed rumour was widely circulated in mass media, 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 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 ...

. General Ri was named an alternate member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

. 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. 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, 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

. On 31 December 2022, he was appointed as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, replacing Pak Jong-chon. He was also reappointed as the Chief of the General Staff on 10 August 2023, succeeding Park Su-il.

Sanctions

On 22 March 2021, the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) a ...

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."

Awards and honors

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

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ri, Yong-gil 1952 births Date of birth unknown Living people North Korean generals Members of the 8th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea