North Korean House of Cards

ack to the 1980s, when he was Director of the GSD Operations
Bureau. 697 In 1995, he played a key role in preventing an attempted
coup d’état by the Sixth Corps, thus cementing his credentials as a loyal
supporter of the Kim family. Additionally, he was one of the members
who escorted Kim Jong-il’s hearse. Even though he lost his position as
Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in 2012, 698 he holds a critical post
within the Party apparatus as the Director of the KWP Civil Defense
Department. His degree of access to Kim Jong-un, however, is most
likely weakening. 699 He had close ties to Jang Song-taek. Following Kim
Jong-il’s death, Kim Yong-chun most likely worked closely with Jang on
building Kim Jong-un’s legitimacy within the high command. 700
• General Kim Yong-chol (69) has been a member of the CMC since
2010, Vice Chief of the GSD since 2013, 701 and Director of the RGB
since 2009. His ties to Kim Jong-un allegedly date back to the early
2000s, when he oversaw Kim Jong-un’s education at Kim Il-sung Military
University. Previously, he was in the GC and served as a bodyguard
to Kim Jong-il. The RGB was tied to the succession in 2010 with
the sinking of the Cheonan. While there has been speculation over
the relationship between Kim Yong-chol and Kim Jong-un in recent
years, given the former’s demotion and re-promotion, he was a lead
voice during the tensions of March/April crisis in 2013. In early March,
he announced North Korea’s abrogation of the armistice. He is also
one of the four military officers in the photograph of Kim Jong-un’s
military briefing on March 29, 2013. Formally, his access to the senior
leadership would go through Chief of the GSD, Ri Yong-gil, and
697 Kim Yong-chun and O Kuk-ryol were purged in the mid-1980s following a dispute with O
Jin-u. However, they were part of an exclusive group within the GSD who enjoyed Kim Jong-il’s patronage.
It was Kim Jong-il’s support that saved them and brought them back to power after O Jin-u’s death.
698 Kim Yong-chun was also relieved of his post of Vice Chairman of the NDC in 2014, a post
he had held since 2007.
699 In 2015, reports have begun to surface that Kim Yong-chun may have retired in 2013. While
his name appeared on Kim Kuk-tae’s Funeral Committee list in 2013, it did not appear on the list for Jon
Pyong-ho in 2014.
700 There is a range of opinion about Kim Yong-chun’s relationships within the high command.
While some believe that he has some influence, many believe that he is despised because of his questionable
operational credentials. He most likely does not oversee an extensive patronage system.
701 According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification’s Who’s Who in Major North Korean
Agencies and Organizations in 2013, the other vice chiefs of the GSD are O Kum-chol, Kim Su-hak, Kim
Myong-hwan, and Ro Kwang-chol. O Kum-chol (former Commander of the KPA Air Force) and his
brother, O Chol-san (member of the KPA Navy’s political committee), are sons of O Paek-ryong, former
Director of the General Escort Bureau and head of the KWP Military Department.
Ken E. Gause
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