Ri_Pyong-chol
Ri Pyong-chol
North Korean politician
Ri Pyong-chol (Korean: 리병철, born 1948)[1] is a North Korean marshal and formerly a top advisor of supreme leader Kim Jong Un, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea. He is a relative of Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju. He currently also serves as a director of a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and First Deputy Director of the WPK Organization and Guidance Department (OGD).[3][4]
General Ri's military and senior Party experience make him an important advisor to Kim Jong Un, especially during crisis.[4] He is an alternate member of the WPK Political Bureau, and a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly.[5] Ri served in the Korean People's Army Air Force until 2014 at which time he became a senior party official.[6]
In December 2017, the U.S. Treasury department issued sanctions against him, blocking him from "any property or interests in property within U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibits [him] from transactions with American citizens".[7]
In late 2019, Ri became a director of a department of the Central Committee of the party, possibly of the Munitions Industry Department, where he was previously the senior deputy director.[8]
On 23 May 2020, Ri became a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.[9] On 13 August he also became a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea. On 5 October, he was promoted to Marshal of the Korean People's Army.[10]
Following an unspecified "serious incident" in June 2021, Ri was stripped of his military title and demoted to a junior position in the party.[11] He was again identified as a Politburo Presidium member and secretary of the Central Committee at the celebrations for the 90th anniversary of the Korean People's Army on 25 April 2022.
