Ri Yong-gil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vice Marshal
Ri Yong-gil
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| 리영길 | |
| Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2023 |
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| Chairman | Kim Jong Un |
| Preceded by | Pak Jong-chon |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office September 29, 2021 – December 28, 2022 |
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| Supreme Commander | Kim Jong Un |
| Preceded by | Kim Jong-gwan |
| Succeeded by | Kang Sun-nam |
| Minister of Social Security | |
| In office January 2021 – July 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Kim Jong-ho |
| Succeeded by | Kim Jong-ho |
| Chief of the General Staff | |
| In office August 2013 – January 2016 |
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| Supreme Commander | Kim Jong Un |
| Preceded by | Kim Kyok-sik |
| Succeeded by | Ri Myong-su |
| In office June 4, 2018 – September 6, 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Ri Myong-su |
| Succeeded by | Pak Jong-chon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1952 (age 71–72) North Korea |
| Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Korean People's Army |
| Branch/service | Korean People's Army Ground Force |
| Years of service | 1969–present |
| Rank | Ch'asu (Vice Marshal) |
| Commands |
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| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 리영길 |
| Hancha | 李永吉 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ri Yŏnggil |
| Revised Romanization | I Yeonggil |
Ri Yong-gil (리영길, born 1952) is a North Korean military officer and a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea. He is believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013.
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.
He was promoted to Colonel General (Sangjang) and elected an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea 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 in August 2013 as well as promoted to general around the same time.
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In early February 2016, the South Korean news agency Yonhap 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. General Ri was named an alternate member of the Politburo. 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. At 27 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 Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea. On 1 January 2023, he was appointed as a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, replacing Pak Jong-chon.
Awards and honors
A picture of Ri shows him wearing the ribbons of all decorations awarded to him.
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