Kim Il-chol

Who is Kim Il-chol?

Kim Il-chol is a former member of the North Korean National Defence Commission of North Korea and former Minister for Defence.

He was born in Pyongyang in 1933. He graduated from Mangyongdae Revolutionary School and the "Soviet Union Naval Academy". Although the North Korean army mainly depends on ground troops, Admiral Kim who was commander of the Korean People's Navy since 1982 was installed in the highest military position of the head of the Minister of the People's Armed Forces in 1998, filling a vacancy left by Choe Kwang, who died in February 1997, something that indicated that he was fully trusted by Kim Jong-il. Kim Il-chol participated as a senior delegate in the inter-Korean Defense Minister’s meeting held for the first time since the division of the Korean peninsula in September 2000.

Kim was appointed to the National Defence Commission in 1988. He was removed from all his positions in 2010, reportedly due to his advanced age.