Kim Su-gil

Career Kim Su-gil is a career soldier. In his early career, he held posts in the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army (KPA) and its General Staff Department. On 24 April 1992 he was promoted to the rank of sojang (Major General). On 15 April 2010 he was promoted to chungjang (Lieutenant General). In the Autumn of 2013 he was temporarily demoted to sojang again, like many other high-ranking KPA soldiers. He currently holds a rank of four-star general. Kim has previously served as the Chairman of the Pyongyang City Committee of the Worker's Party from April 2014 to 2018 when he was replaced by Ri Man-gon. In this post, soon after his appointment, he issued a public apology following a building collapse in the city. He was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) in 2009 election and again in 2014 election. Kim has served as a full member of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and an alternate member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea since May 2016. He is also on the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim served on the funeral committees of Jon Pyong-ho in 2014, Ri Ul-sol and Kim Yang-gon in 2015, and Kang Sok-ju in 2016. Kim Su-gil replaced Kim Jong-gak in May 2018 as the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army. North Korean media announced the reshuffle in May 2018, after Kim Jong-gak had served for merely four months. It is possible that the appointment took place on 17 May at a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea chaired by Kim Jong- Un. On 1 January 2023, Kim was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Pyongyang Municipal Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and a member of the WPK Politburo. On 17 January 2023, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.