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O Kuk-ryol

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In thisKorean name,the family name isO.

O Kuk-ryol
오극렬
Vice-Chairman of theNational Defence Commission
In office
April 2009 – 30 June 2016
Leader
Succeeded byCommission abolished
Personal details
Born(1930-01-07)7 January 1930[1]
Onjō,Kankyōhoku-dō,Korea, Empire of Japan
Died9 February 2023(2023-02-09)(aged 93)
NationalityNorth Korean
Military service
AllegianceNorth Korea
Branch/serviceKorean People's Army
RankGeneral
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
오극렬
Hancha
Ngô khắc liệt
Revised RomanizationO Geuk-ryeol
McCune–ReischauerO Kŭngnyŏl

O Kuk-ryol(Korean:오극렬;Hancha:Ngô khắc liệt,7 January 1930[1]– 9 February 2023) was a North Korean military general. He was Chief ofGeneral Staffof theKorean People's Armyfrom 1979 to 1988. He also served as vice-chairman of theNational Defence Commission of North Korea,head of the Operations Department from April 2009 to June 2016.[2]Foreign observers referred to O as the second most powerful man in North Korea.[3]

A childhood friend ofKim Jong Il,O was one of Kim's allies elected to the Politburo in 1980. He later led North Korean programs forcyberwarfare,counterfeiting, and nuclear weapons.

Military career[edit]

The son ofO Jung-songand nephew ofO Jung-hup,who fought the Japanese withKim Il Sung,O Kuk-ryol was among war orphans under the care of Kim Il Sung's wifeKim Jong-sukand was a close personal friend ofKim Jong Ilfrom childhood.[4]

After attendingMangyongdae Revolutionary School,Kim Il Sung University,andair force academiesin theSoviet Union,O served as an air force commander, beginning as a major general and superintendent of theKim Chaek Air Force Academy,the North's top air force academy, in 1964, and then as a lieutenant general and became the commander of theKorean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Forcein 1968 before joiningpoliticsin 1970 as a member of the5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.Hewas electeddeputy to theSupreme People's Assemblyin 1967.[5]

O was promoted again in 1979 to Chief ofGeneral Staffof theKorean People's Army,after serving two years as the deputy chief of staff.[6]He became part of the "1980 group," who rose to power as Kim Jong Il started succeeding Kim Il Sung at the Party's6th Congress,when O was elected member of the6th Politburoand the6th Central Military Commission.He was later awarded theOrder of Kim Il Sung,promoted to general and put in charge of theMirim Electronic Warfare Institutefor developingcyber warfare.[6]A dispute with Minister of People's Armed ForcesO Jin-uin 1988 led to his demotion and forced him to undertake a period of re-education;[6]this may have had to do with enabling his later counterfeiting activities.[5]

In 1989, O was pardoned and appointed head of theCivil Defense Departmentof theWorkers' Party of Korea,then head of the Operations Department, which was transferred under the National Defence Commission in 2009.[2][3]Together with So Sang Guk andJon Pyong Ho,O led the early stages of the North Korean nuclear weapons programme.[7]

O Kuk-ryol migrated with the department assuming the post of vice-chairman of the NDC in April 2009. He was reelected to the6th Central Committeeat the3rd Conference of the Workers' Party of Koreain September 2010, but kept out of the Politburo and theCentral Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.Nevertheless, he was considered among "senior officials of party, state, army, security organs, and national institutions".[6]

In June 2009, O was identified by international authorities and the United States government as a key figure in North Korea's currency counterfeiting activities, specifically withUnited States one hundred-dollar bills,known asSuperdollars.[8][9]

Under Kim Jong-un[edit]

O Kuk-ryol took part at a meeting of top leaders held immediately after Kim Jong Il's death on 17 December 2011 toplan the funeraland succession.[10]He was a member of theKim Jong-il funeral committee.As a Kim loyalist, speculations named him as a possible successor ofKim Jong Un,and the regime appeared to be purging O's protégés in January 2011 to prevent him from being a threat to Jong-un.[11]After the execution ofJang Sung-taekin December 2013, a powerful rival, O re-emerged as more of a public figure.[12]

O died from heart failure on 9 February 2023, at age 93.[13][14]

Family[edit]

O was reported to have also involved members of his family, including his son O Se-won, in the counterfeiting business, which reportedly took place at the Pyongsong Trademark Printing Factory, a factory under the control of O's Operations Department.[8][9]His other son O Se-uk, who was also a military general, defected to the United States in 2004.[4]He also had five daughters, the eldest of which is a screenwriter for a film studio. O was also reportedly fluent in Russian, Chinese, and English.[5]In 2006, a South Korean intelligence report noted he was perceived as reliable and knew South Korea well.[15]

O family[16]
?
O Jung-songO Jung-hup
(1910–1939)
O Kuk-ryol
(1930–2023)
O Hye-young
(1956–)		O Hyon-ok
(1958–)		O Young-ae
(1960–)		O Se-uk
(1962–)		O Hye-sun
(1965–)		O Young-ranO Se-wonSo Ho-won
(in-law)

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Sanctions List Search - O".US Treasury. Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2017.Retrieved13 September2017.
  2. ^abRosen, James (1 May 2009)."In North Korea, Ailing Kim Begins Shifting Power to Military".Fox News.Retrieved22 September2010.
  3. ^abKirk, Donald (22 September 2010)."5 key people to watch in North Korea".The Christian Science Monitor.Retrieved22 September2010.
  4. ^abSano, Yoel (18 February 2005)."Military holds the key".Asia Times.Archived from the original on 18 February 2005.Retrieved22 September2010.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^abc"O Kuk-ryol".KBS World.Retrieved22 September2010.
  6. ^abcd"Gen. O Kuk-ryol".North Korea Leadership Watch.17 August 2013.Retrieved6 January2016.
  7. ^"Behind North Korea's nuclear weapons programme: a geriatric trio".Reuters.7 January 2016.Retrieved13 February2023.
  8. ^abGertz, Bill (2 June 2009)."N. Korea general tied to forged $100 bills".The Washington Times.Retrieved22 September2010.
  9. ^ab"Reports: Top North Korean General Named in Counterfeit U.S. Money Plot".Fox News.2 June 2009.Retrieved22 September2010.
  10. ^Gen. O Kuk Ryol Steps Forth From the ShadowsArchived20 July 2013 at theWayback Machine,North Korea Leadership Watch, 26 December 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  11. ^"N.Korea 'Purging Proteges of the Old Guard'".The Chosun Ilbo.10 January 2011.Retrieved19 December2011.
  12. ^Lee, Jong-Heon (30 January 2014)."Powerful general tied to N. Korea's WMD programs takes center stage following Jang's demise".World Tribune.Archived fromthe originalon 23 June 2014.Retrieved10 July2014.
  13. ^"Kim chính nhật tổng thư ký の tối trắc cận ・ ngô khắc liệt nguyên quốc phòng ủy viên hội phó ủy viên trường が tử khứ"[Kim Jong Il's closest aide and former Defense Commission Vice Chairman O Kuk-ryol dies] (in Japanese).Sankei.11 February 2023.Retrieved11 February2023.
  14. ^Tertitskiy, Fyodor (13 February 2023)."O Kuk Ryol, North Korean general under 3 generations of Kim leaders, dies at 90".NK News.Retrieved18 February2023.
  15. ^"After Kim Jong-il".Al Jazeera.3 November 2008.Retrieved22 September2010.
  16. ^북한정보포털 | 인물 상세보기 | 오극렬[North Korea Information Portal | View portrait details | O Kuk-ryol].nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr(in Korean).Ministry of Unification.Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2022.Retrieved1 February2019.

External links[edit]

Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army
September 1979 – February 1988 		Succeeded by


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