Nam was born Yakov Petrovich Nam (Russian: Яков Петрович Нам) probably in the Russian Far East.[3] Due to a Soviet policy, Nam's family, like many Koreans in Russia's Far East, were moved to Central Asia. He was educated at Smolensk Military School and in Tashkent. Nam achieved his final rank of captain as an Assistant to the Division Chief of Staff of a Soviet Army division during World War II. He took part in some of the greatest battles, including Stalingrad and the Battle of Berlin.[4]
When not serving in the military, he worked in the education sector. In 1946, he was sent to Soviet occupied North Korea, as a member of a contingent of ethnic Korean former Soviet military officers to assist Kim Il Sung, leaving behind a wife and daughter in Soviet Union.[3] After the Korean war broke out in 1950 he was appointed Chief of Staff, replacing Kang Kon who had been killed in action. In 1953, Nam became a General of the Army (대장, three-star rank at the time).[3] When the Korean War reached a stalemate in July 1951, Nam served as the Communists' chief delegate at the armistice talks.[5] He was famous for using an amber cigarette holder.[6]
After the war, Nam Il served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the North Korean government. Along with another Soviet Korean Pak Chong-ae, he worked to help Kim Il Sung break free from Soviet influence. In 1957, he was promoted and became one of several deputy Prime Ministers.[3] Nam, along with Pang Hak-se (the founder of the DPRK secret police), was one of only a few prominent Soviet Koreans who survived the purges of the 1950s.[3]
On 7 March 1976, it was announced that he had died when his car was crushed by a truck. Many suspected that this was not an accident, and some blamed Kim Jong Il, who by that time was not powerful enough to simply order that Nam be killed. Others said that it was done by Kim Il Sung.[3][7] Nam Il's son, who lived in the Soviet Union, visited North Korea and attempted to investigate, but Pang Hak-se told him to go home and stop interfering in affairs which did not concern him.[3]
^Tertitskiy, Fyodor (June 14, 2024). The Forgotten Political Elites of North Korea: Woe to the Vanquished. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. p. 114. ISBN9781032745473.
^Wilfred Burchett, Memoirs of a Rebel Journalist : The Autobiography of Wilfred Burchett (2005), edited by Nick Shimmin and George Burchett, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney, New South Wales. ISBN0-86840-842-5, p 385.
^ abBluth, Christoph (2008). Korea. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp. 27–28. ISBN978-07456-3357-2.
Tertitskiy, Fyodor (June 14, 2024). "Nam Il: The general who signed the Korean War Armistice". The Forgotten Political Elites of North Korea: Woe to the Vanquished. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. pp. 145–159. ISBN9781032745473.
Further reading
Futrell, Robert F. (1961).The United States Air Force in Korea 1950-1953. Air Force History and Museums Program year 2000 reprint of original Duel, Sloan and Pearce edition. ISBNs 0160488796, 978–0160488795.
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