Kim Il-ch'ŏl

Korean spelling
Chosŏn'gŭl	김일철
Hancha	金 鎰 喆
Revised Romanization	Gim Il-cheol
McCune- Reischauer	Kim Ilch'ŏl
See also : Korean name

Kim Il-ch'ŏl (* 1933 in Heijō , Chōsen Province , Japanese Empire , today Pyongyang ) is a North Korean military and politician.

Kim Il-ch'ŏl studied in Pyongyang and at a Soviet naval college. He was a member of the National Defense Commission and Minister of Defense of North Korea from September 1998 to February 2009 . His predecessor, Ch'oe Kwang , had died in February 1997. Kim himself was replaced by Kim Yŏng-ch'un in February 2009 and was henceforth his first deputy. In May 2010, Kim Il-ch'ŏl was unexpectedly dismissed from his office. A report by the state news agency KCNA said that Kim had been fired for reasons of age. Since it is by no means uncommon in North Korea for people over the age of 80 to hold high office in the state, foreign media speculated about the real reasons for Kim's dismissal.

Kim Il-ch'ŏl has the military rank of " Vice Marshal ".

Web links

• Kim Il Chol named N. Korean defense minister
• Daily NK : Surprise Public Removal of Core Military Man

predecessor	Office	successor
Ch'oe Kwang	Defense Minister of North Korea September 1998 - February 2009	Kim Yŏng-ch'un

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Kim is the family name here, Il-ch'ŏl is the first name.