O Kuk Ryol reappeared at a concert of the DPRK National Symphony on the 28 July 2019. He was accompagned by Ri Yong Mu, and the former Prime Minister of North Korea Choe Yong Rim.
O Kuk Ryol [오극렬/呉克烈], born 1931, is a North Korean military general
and, since April 2009, has been Vice-Chairman of the National Defense
Commission of the DPRK. Following a brief setback in the 1980s, O has
accrued a great deal of authority in North Korea over the past
two-decades. O’s rise—and the great deal of trust placed in O by his
colleagues—in part stems from his family credentials and revolutionary
heritage.
A Revolutionary Heritage | General O is the son of O Jung Hup, a communist revolutionary fighter
who fought the Japanese alongside Kim Il-Sung, the ‘eternal president’
of the DPRK. (By some accounts, O is the nephew of O Jung Hup, not his
son. In any case, O Kuk Ryol is still protected by a revolutionary
lineage.) Because of the connection between their fathers, O Kuk Ryol
was also a childhood friend to Kim Jong Il, opening the possibility of
having been one of the Kim’s mentor in military affairs. O and Kim were
furthermore nurtured by the same women as children, Kim Jong Suk, and
thus share another point of connection. The theme of generational and
family ties persists today, as the young Kim Jong Un is closely advised
by O Se Won, a son of O Kuk Ryol.
A child of a revolutionary hero, O was educated at the prestigious
Mangyongdae Revolutionary School in Pyongyang and later enrolled in Kim
Il Sung University. He subsequently studied air power and learned
Russian at the Frunze Military Academy, one of the most advanced
academic institutes for military education in the Soviet Union. Born in
Jilin Province (part of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo at the
time), O Kuk Ryol is also fluent in Chinese. He is also said to speak
English fluently, but, like Kim Jong-Un’s supposed command of German and
French, evidence for this assertion is purely anecdotal.
A Rising Political Star | In the 1960s, O Kuk Ryol
jumpstarted his career in the North Korean air force and joined the
Central Committee of the Korean Workers Party. According to one source, during the Yom Kippur War, O was an air pilot who helped Egyptian forces.
In 1979, he was promoted to the head of the North Korean Army. As he
rose through the North Korean government, O’s support of Kim Jong-Il’s
successor status was crucial during the 1980s.
In 1988, O Kuk Ryol was temporarily sidelined, as Choe Kwang, a
former ally of Kim Il Sung, took over O’s leadership posts. Despite this
setback, O persevered, and eventually returned to the top of the North
Korean military scene in 2009. He was nominated as Vice-Chairman of the
National Defense Commission, the most powerful military organization in
North Korea. O, however, is not a very influential political figure—he
does not belong to the Politbureau of the Korean Workers’ Party, for
example.
O Kuk Ryol is a classic product of the Songun (military-first)
oriented North Korean leadership style. He was an advisor to Kim Il
Sung, to Kim Jong Il, and now his son, O Se Won, is an advisor to Kim
Jong Un—apparently on relations with China. O Kuk Ryol is also reportedly an advisor to Kim Jong Un on operations against South Korea. If this is true, O Kuk Ryol was probably involved and partially responsible for the Cheonan Incident in March 2010.
The O Kuk Ryol Family and Kim Jong Un | Despite the
lifelong ties between Kim Jong Il and O Kuk Ryol, it appears that during
the last few months of Kim Jong Il’s life, O was pushed completely out
of the North Korean political scene, and rumors circulated in 2011 that
Kim Jong Un purged many of O’s supports. Nevertheless, it is clear that O
Se won, son of O Kuk Ryol, is in fact a close advisor to Kim Jong Un. O
Se Won, then, may have asked Kim Jong Un to elevate his father to the
top of the North Korean Army.
Beyond O Se Won’s ties to Kim Jong Un, the O Kuk Ryol family is also famous for its involvement with the Mirim Electronic Warfare Institute—an
institute which is probably at the forefront of DPRK cyber-security and
training North Korean hackers today. O Se Won is also allegedly
responsible for North-Korean counterfeiting activities,
an important source of income for the DPRK government. O Se Won also
figures prominently into a group of third generation North Korean elites
called Ponghwajo.
One of O Kuk Ryol’s other children, O Se Uk,
defected to the United States in 2004. While family members of
defectors are usually punished, O Kuk Ryol and O Se Won were seem to
have narrowly avoided any further consequences. Indeed, it seems that O
Se Won will continue to absorb more responsibilities and play a key role
as North Korea transitions into the third generation of leadership.
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