Kim Kyok-sik

Korean spelling
Chosŏn'gŭl	김격식
Revised Romanization	Gim Gyeok-sik
McCune- Reischauer	Kim Kyŏksik
See also : Korean name

Kim Kyok-sik (* before 1944 - May 10, 2015 ) was the North Korean chief of staff and former defense minister .

Career

From 2007 to 2009 Kim was Chief of Staff of the North Korean Armed Forces . He is believed to be behind the two attacks in 2010 (the sinking of the Cheonan (PCC-772) and the bombing of Yeonpyeong ) that killed 50 South Koreans. In November 2012, the hardliner general was named North Korea's Defense Minister. On May 12, 2013, it was announced that he had been replaced by Jang Jong-nam as Minister of Defense. The post of defense minister is, however, subordinate to the post of chief of staff. Ten days later, the KCNA reported that Kim Kyok-sik was re-appointed Chief of Staff.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ dates of birth vary; For example: Nate People profile : 1944  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Korean); Institute for National Unification : 1940 (Korean; PDF; 14.1 MB).  
2. ↑ Kim Kyok-sik, Hard-Line North Korean General, Dies at 77
3. ↑ ^{a b} Kim names hardliner army chief . Spiegel Online from May 22, 2013.
4. ↑ North Korea sacks hard-line defense minister, appoints younger general . The Washington Times, May 13, 2013.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Kim Jong-un appoints new defense minister . FAZ of May 13, 2013.
6. ↑ North Korea named General Jang Jong-nam as new armed forces minister ( Memento of the original from July 3, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . China News from May 12, 2013. 
7. ↑ Kim Jong Un replaces Minister of Defense . Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 13, 2013.

predecessor	Office	successor
Kim Jong-gak	Defense Minister of North Korea November 2012 – May 2013	Jang Jong-nam

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, Kyok-sik is the first name.