North Korean House of Cards

Name Position(s) Comments
General Ri
Pyong-chol
(66)
• Member of the
CMC (since
2010)
Ri Pyong-chol has spoken at a number of
leadership events and has accompanied
Kim Jong-un on a number of military-related
• Member of the
NDC (since
2014)
guidance inspections. Ri’s name has
also been associated with the North Korean
drone program. With his appointment
• Former Commander
of the
KPA Air Force
(until December
2014)
to the NDC at the meeting of the SPA in
September 2014, he most likely gained
direct access to Kim Jong-un and no longer
has to communicate through the GSD.
In January 2015, Ri was identified as the
• First Vice Director
of a KWP
CC Department
(2015)
first vice department director of the KWP
Central Committee. According to South
Korean media, he is attached to the KWP
Military Department. He ranked 52nd on
Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list.
Vice Marshal
Kim Yongchun
(79)
• Member of the
Politburo (since
2010)
• Member of the
CMC (since
2010)
• Director, KWP
Civil Defense
Department
(since 2012)
• Possibly has
been retired
Kim Yong-chun’s ties to the Kim family go
back to the 1980s, when he was Director of
the GSD Operations Bureau. A member of
the guard that accompanied Kim Jong-il’s
hearse, Kim Yong-chun appeared to play a
critical role in the early Kim Jong-un period.
However, rumors surfaced in 2013 that he
had been retired from the leadership.
Ken E. Gause
87