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Vice Marshal
Ri Yong-gil
리영길
Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission
Assumed office
1 January 2023
Chairman Kim Jong Un
Preceded by Pak Jong-chon
Chief of the General Staff
Assumed office
10 August 2023
Preceded by Park Su-il
In office
August 2013 – January 2016
Preceded by Kim Kyok-sik
Succeeded by Ri Myong-su
In office
4 June 2018 – 6 September 2019
Preceded by Ri Myong-su
Succeeded by Pak Jong-chon
Minister of Defence
In office
29 September 2021 – 28 December 2022
Preceded by Kim Jong-gwan
Succeeded by Kang Sun-nam
Minister of Social Security
In office
January 2021 – July 2021
Preceded by Kim Jong-ho
Succeeded by Kim Jong-ho
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
  • 3rd Army Corps 2002 to 2007
  • 5th Army Corps 2007 to 2012
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 who is currently a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Chief of the General Staff.

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 believed to have been in his 60s when appointed to his position as a general in 2013.

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.

Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin (2019-04-25) 15
Ri (right) at the 2019 Kim–Putin meeting

In early February 2016, the South Korean news agency Yonhap News Agency 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. 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 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. He was also reappointed as the Chief of the General Staff on 10 August 2023, succeeding Park Su-il.

Awards and honors

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

PRK Order of Kim Il Sung BAR.png
DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 1st Class.svg
DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 1st Class.png DPRK Order of Labor.png DPRK 20th Anniversary Order.png
KPA Foundation Commemorative Order.png PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png
PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png PRK Order of the National Flag - 2nd Class BAR.png DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 2nd Class.png
DPRK Order of Three Great Revolutions.png DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg
DPRK ribbon bar - Order of National Flag 3rd Class.svg DPRK Order of Military Service Honor 3rd Class.png DPRK ribbon bar - Order of Soldier's Honor 2nd Class.svg
FatherlandLiberationRibbon.jpg Commemorative Medal Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ribbon.gif DPRK Military Merit Medal.png
装饰略章.svg DPRK Medal of Military Service Honor.png 装饰略章.svg
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