Hwang Pyong-so
황병서
Hwang in October 2014
Vice Chairman of the
Central Military Commission
In office
11 April 2012 – 10 January 2021
Supreme LeaderKim Jong Un
Preceded byChoe Ryong-hae
Director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army
In office
26 April 2014 – 9 February 2018
Supreme LeaderKim Jong Un
Preceded byChoe Ryong-hae
Succeeded byKim Jong-gak
Vice Chairman of the
State Affairs Commission
In office
29 June 2016 – 9 February 2018
Supreme LeaderKim Jong Un
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byChoe Ryong-hae
Vice Chairman of the
National Defence Commission
In office
9 April 2014 – 29 June 2016
Supreme LeaderKim Jong Un
Preceded byChoe Ryong-hae
Succeeded byCommission abolished
Personal details
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Political partyWorkers' Party of Korea
Military service
Allegiance North Korea
Branch/service Korean People's Army
Rank Ch'asu
(Vice Marshal)
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl
황병서
Hancha
Revised RomanizationHwang Byeongseo
McCune–ReischauerHwang Pyŏngsŏ

Hwang Pyong-so (born c. 1946 or 1949)[4][5][6] is a North Korean general and politician who held the rank of Vice Marshal (Korean: 차수, Ch'asu) in the Korean People's Army (KPA). He was a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea and the top-ranking vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission.

Biography

Hwang has probably spent most of his career in the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD),[7] gaining reputation as the organization's éminence grise.[8] In September 2010, Hwang was appointed an alternate member of the Party Central Committee, holding the position of deputy head of the OGD since the early 2000s with a military and security portfolio. In March 2014 he was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly during the 2014 SPA election; during the same month, he was identified as the first vice-director of the party organization department.[7]

On April 28, 2014 Korean Central News Agency reported that the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and National Defense Commission promoted Hwang to the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People's Army (KPA) on April 26. He was first seen wearing the four stars of a full general on April 15, meaning he moved up two ranks – from colonel general in a short time. In an April 27 KCNA report on an artillery drill, Hwang was referred to for the first time as a member of the party Central Military Commission.[9] Later on May 1 he was revealed to be the new chief of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, considered the most senior position in the military after the supreme commander. On September 25 he also replaced former No. 2 Choe Ryong-hae in his last military capacity as first vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission, retaining the position as the NDC was transformed into the State Affairs Commission on 29 June 2016. On 18 February 2015 he was elevated to the top Presidium during a Politburo meeting. Hwang Pyong-so is seen as a key aide to Kim Jong Un.

Hwang is widely reported to have been a university classmate of Kim's aunt Kim Kyong-hui and reportedly maintained close ties with Kim Jong Un's mother Ko Yong-hui.[10]

Hwang's appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in the absence of Kim Jong Un, and his subsequent trip to South Korea, led to speculation in the Western press about his role within the North Korean government.[11][12]

In November 2017, according to South Korean intelligence, Hwang was facing unspecified punishment.[13] On 9 February 2018, North Korean media confirmed that Hwang Pyong-so had been replaced by Kim Jong-gak as the Director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA.[14] Hwang was soon rehabilitated, reappearing in public in February 2018.[15]

In December 2018, the South Korean Ministry of Unification reported that Hwang held the post of First Vice-chairman of the Organization and Guidance Department.[16]

Awards and honors

A picture of Hwang shows him wearing the ribbons to all decorations awarded to him.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 김정은(남성). 북한정보포털 (in Korean). Ministry of Unification. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  2. ↑ [박대종의 어원 이야기] 對話(대화). 주간한국 (in Korean). 9 October 2014. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  3. ↑ 北 김정은, 과학기술전당 준공식 참석…새해 첫 공식활동. 北 중국망 (in Korean). China Internet Information Center. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
  4. ↑ "Sanctions List Search - Hwang Pyong-so". US Treasury. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  5. ↑ Lam, Katherine (2017-12-14). "Kim Jong Un's top aide executed by North Korean death squad, reports suggest". Fox News. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  6. ↑ "Hwang Pyong So (Hwang Pyo'ng-so')". North Korea Leadership Watch. 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  7. 1 2 "Hwang Pyong So (Hwang Pyo'ng-so')". North Korea Leadership Watch. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  8. ↑ Foster-Carter, Aidan (8 October 2018). "How the world misunderestimated Kim Jong Un". NK News. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Hwang Pyong So promoted to Vice-Marshal, elevated in Party, NK News, April 28, 2014
  10. ↑ Hwang Pyong So Elevated to Vice Marshal, Daily NK, April 28, 2014
  11. ↑ Christopher Green (8 October 2014). "Kim Jong-un: has the North Korean dynasty fallen?". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Gerdon G. Chang (5 October 2014). "Has North Korea's Kim Jong Un Been Toppled?". The Daily Beast.
  13. ↑ Smith, Hyonhee Shin (21 November 2017). "Once inside Kim Jong Un's inner circle, top aide's star fades". Reuters.
  14. ↑ "North Korea confirms dismissal of top military general". Channel NewsAsia. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-02-10. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  15. ↑ "Yonhap News Agency".
  16. ↑ Zwirko, Colin (28 December 2018). "North Korean leadership shakeups revealed in latest MOU reference book release". NK News.
  17. ↑ "Mystery over disappearance of North Korea's 'second most powerful man'". The Independent. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
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