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Marshal
Kim Yong-chun
Marshal Kim Yong-chun
김영춘
Minister of People's Armed Forces
	In office; February 2009 – April 2012
Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea
	In office; 9 April 2009 – 13 April 2014
Personal details
Born	4 March 1936; Pochon County, Kankyōnan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan; (now in Ryanggang Province, North Korea)
Died	16 August 2018 (aged 82)
Political party	Workers' Party of Korea
Alma mater	Kim Il Sung Military University; Frunze Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance	North Korea
Branch/service	Korean People's Army
Years of service	1986–2018
Rank	Marshal
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	김영춘
Hancha	金永春,金英春
Revised Romanization	Gim Yeong-chun
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Yŏngch'un

Kim Yong-chun (4 March 1936 – 16 August 2018) was a North Korean soldier and politician. He was a leader of the North Korean military. He held the North Korean military rank Chasu (Vice Marshal), was Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, and was Minister of People's Armed Forces (roughly corresponds to Minister of Defence in other countries).^[2]^[3] He held a minor post within the Workers Party.^[3]

Early life

Kim was born in 1936 in Pochon County, Kankyōnan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan (now in Ryanggang Province, North Korea). He attended the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School and the Kim Il Sung Military University before starting his career in the party apparatus and the Korean People's Army.

Career

He served as secretary of the South Pyongyang Provincial Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in the 1960s and was elected alternate member of the WPK Central Committee in 1980 at the 6th Party Congress. In 1986 he was elevated to Central Committee full member, director of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau and deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly. He was abruptly purged in 1988 along with Chief of General Staff O Kuk-ryol for disputes with O Jin-u.^[4]

Kim Yong-chun reappeared in the 1990s as he was promoted to general and director of the General Munitions Mobilization Bureau. He also oversaw the disbandment of the North Hamgyong Province's Sixth Army Corps, accused of corruption. In 1995, after O Jin-u's death, he was promoted to Vice Marshal and Chief of the KPA General Staff, a post he held until 2007, when he was appointed a vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission.

Kim Yong-chun was reputedly close to Kim Jong Il and a member of his court of aides.^[4] He received new promotions in 2009 as Minister of People's Armed Forces and in 2010 as member of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission.

In December 2011, after the leader's death, he was ranked 5th among members of the Kim Jong Il funeral committee, immediately after Kim Jong Un and the Politburo Presidium members (Kim Yong-nam, Choe Yong-rim and Ri Yong-ho), signalling his powerful position in the new leadership.^[5]

He was replaced as Minister by Kim Jong-gak and appointed director of the WPK Civil Defense Department in April 2012.^[3] Although displaced from all significant leading posts, he was awarded the largely honorary rank of Marshal of the Korean People's Army in April 2016.^[6]

Death

Kim Yong-chun died on 16 August 2018 from myocardial infarction, aged 82. Many notable figures were involved on his funeral committee, including Kim Jong-un and Kim Yong-nam.^[7]

Awards and honors

A frame with Kim's awards and honors was displayed during his funeral, showing all the decorations he had received.^[8]

Hero of the Republic

Order of Kim Il Sung, twice

Order of Kim Jong Il

Order of the National Flag First Class, eight times

Order of Korean Labour, twice

Commemorative Order "Anniversary of the Foundation of the People's Army", twice

Commemorative Order "20th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", twice

Commemorative Order "Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", twice

Order of the National Flag Second Class, twice

Order of Freedom and Independence Second Class

Commemorative Order "50th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", twice

Order of the Red Banner of Three Great Revolutions

Commemorative Order "40th Anniversary of Fatherland Liberation War Victory"

Order of the National Flag Third Class, three times

Medal For Military Merit, twice

Commemorative Medal "Fatherland Liberation"

Commemorative Medal "The Foundation of the People's Republic of Korea", twice

He also received multiple watches signed with Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il's signature.

References

^ 북한軍 실세는 혁명 2세대 70代
^ <추가>북, 총리에 김영일, 국방위 부위원장에 김영춘 선임 (in Korean) Tongil News
^ ^a ^b ^c "Top 4 N. Korean Military Officials Fall Victim to Shakeup". The Chosun Ilbo. Nov 30, 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
^ ^a ^b VMAR Kim Yong Chun, North Korea Leadership Watch. Accessdate: 2018-08-21
^ All eyes set on Kim Jong Il's funeral committee list Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Asahi Shimbun, December 27, 2011.
^ Ha-young Choi (15 April 2016). "Kim Jong Un promotes senior military officials". NK News.
^ "MAR Kim Yong Chun (1936-2018)". North Korea Leadership Watch. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ Full State Funeral of the Korean Hero Marshal Kim Yong Chun [2018], retrieved 2023-01-09

Political offices
Preceded by Kim Il-chol	Minister of People's Armed Forces 2009–2012	Succeeded by Kim Jong-gak
Military offices
Preceded by Choe Kwang	Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army 1995–2007	Succeeded by Kim Kyok-sik