O Kuk-ryol

O Kuk-ryol
오극렬
Vice-Chairman of the National 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
呉克烈
Revised RomanizationO Geuk-ryeol
McCune–ReischauerO Kŭngnyŏl

O Kuk-ryol (Korean오극렬; Hancha呉克烈, 7 January 1930[1] – 9 February 2023) was a North Korean military general. He was Chief of General Staff of the Korean People's Army from 1979 to 1988. He also served as vice-chairman of the National 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 of Kim Jong Il, O was one of Kim's allies elected to the Politburo in 1980. He later led North Korean programs for cyberwarfare, counterfeiting, and nuclear weapons.

  1. ^ a b "Sanctions List Search - O". US Treasury. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference fox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference csm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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