Hyon Chol-hae

Korean spelling
Chosŏn'gŭl	현철해
Hancha	玄 哲海
Revised Romanization	Hyeon Cheol-hae
McCune- Reischauer	Hyon Ch'ŏlhae
See also : Korean name

Hyon Chol-hae (* 1934 ) is a North Korean politician of the Labor Party of Korea (PdAK) and Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army (KVA), who is currently a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee (ZK) of the PdAK and a member of the National Defense Commission . He also acted simultaneously as the head of the permanent office of the National Defense Commission and one of the deputy heads of the department for organizational management of the Central Committee and is also a member of the Central Committee of the PdAK and a deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly . As head of the permanent office of the National Defense Commission, he managed the day-to-day running of this institution and coordinated Kim Jong-il's visits to the People's Army units. In addition to his experience in political administration and military logistics, he was one of the close military advisers to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. In April 2012 he became First Deputy Minister for the People's Armed Forces, but lost this post in May 2013 to Colonel General Jon Chang-bok .

Life

Promotion to lieutenant general

After attending the Revolutionary School of Mangyŏngdae , an elite school for the children of deceased revolutionary fighters as well as top politicians and senior military personnel, Hyon Chol-hae served as Kim Il-sung's bodyguard during the Korean War and then studied at the " Nicolae Bălcescu " military academy. in Romania . After that he was again one of the bodyguards of Kim Il-sung and, after his promotion to major general in 1968, worked as deputy head of organization in the main political department of the Ministry for the People's Armed Forces. In the 1970s he was dismissed from this position and later found use as director of the training school for the officers of the rear services of the People's Army.

After his promotion to lieutenant general in 1986 he was appointed head of the main logistic department in the Ministry for the People's Armed Forces and held this position until 1995. At the 19th plenum of the 6th PdAK Central Committee in December 1991, Hyon Chol-hae was initially a candidate for the Central Committee before he was elected a member of the PdAK Central Committee at the 21st plenum of the 6th Central Committee in December 1993. In July 1994 he was a member of the funeral committee for Kim Il-sung's state funeral.

Member of the Politburo and First Vice Minister of Defense

After his promotion to general in 1995, Hyon Chol-hae was appointed deputy head of the Department of Political Affairs of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. In 1998 he was also elected for the first time as a deputy of the Supreme People's Assembly and was re-elected to the 12th Supreme People's Assembly in both 2003 and 2009 . In the Supreme People's Assembly he is a member of the qualification and authority review committee.

In 2007 General Hyon was appointed director of the Permanent Bureau of the National Defense Commission. Together with General Ri Myong-su , Minister of Public Security , with whom he regularly took part in Kim Jong-il's trips, he was one of the central figures within Kim Jong-il's military leadership. Together with General Ri, he also took part in Kim Jong-il's public appearances before, during and after his stroke in August 2008. He also accompanied Kim on his state visit to the People's Republic of China in May 2010.

In April 2012, Hyon Chol-hae was promoted to Vice-Marshal and appointed First Vice-Minister for the People's Armed Forces. He also became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee and a member of the Central Military Committee.

In the transition period after Kim Jong-ils death and Kim Jong-un came to power, it was speculated that there would be a power struggle between himself and Chang Sung-taek , who is married to Kim Jong-ils younger sister Kim Kyŏng-hŭi and is vice -president -Chairman of the National Defense Commission came. Unlike Chang, who already has considerable influence due to his family ties, or the head of the General Staff's Operations Department, General Kim Myong-guk , who built a political network, Hyon's position of power was based solely on his familiarity with Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong -il. In fact, on May 16, 2013, he was replaced as First Vice Minister for the People's Armed Forces by Colonel General Jon Chang-bok. Defense Minister Kim Kyok-sik was replaced by Jang Jong-nam four days earlier .

Web links

• Biography in North Korea Leadership Watch
• Who will succeed N Korea's Kim Jong-il? . In: BBC News of January 16, 2009

Individual evidence

1. ^ N Korean leader removes high-profile military figure . In: Channel NewsAsia on May 17, 2013
2. ^ N. Korea replaces vice minister of defense . In: Yonhap News Agency, May 17, 2013

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Hyon is the family name here, Chol-hae is the first name.