Choe Ryong-hae

Biography

Choe Ryong-hae was born on January 15, 1950, in Sinchon County, North Korea, to Choe Hyon, a well-known guerrilla fighter and one of the founding military figures of North Korea. His family background gave him significant political advantage from early on, placing him within North Korea's inner circles. He studied at Kim Il-sung University, the country's top educational institution, and later returned there as a political instructor for the Workers' Party of Korea during the 1970s. In 1967, he joined the Korean People's Army, beginning a long career in both the military and politics.

Choe moved up through the League of Socialist Working Youth of Korea, an organization crucial for engaging young citizens ideologically. After the league was renamed the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League in 1996, Choe was appointed its first secretary, a major step in his political career. However, in 1998, his career almost ended when he was implicated in the unauthorized sale of scrap metal to foreign buyers, a serious offense in North Korea's controlled economy. He was saved from execution thanks to the intervention of Kim Kyong-hui, sister of then-leader Kim Jong Il.

After this close call, Choe gradually regained his position in the party. He served as deputy director of the General Affairs Department and later became chief secretary of the Hwanghae Province Party Committee from 2006 to 2010. In 2010, he rose quickly in the military, becoming a KPA General while also joining the WPK Secretariat, the Central Military Commission, and as an alternate member of the Politburo. When Kim Jong Un came to power in 2012, Choe's career further accelerated; he became a Vice Marshal, full member of the Politburo Presidium, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and director of the KPA General Political Bureau.

Although he faced a setback around 2014 with a temporary demotion and lost his Politburo Presidium membership, Choe soon regained his position. From 2016 to 2021, he was a Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea. In 2017, he was appointed director of the Organization and Guidance Department, a powerful internal control body in North Korea. In April 2019, he became Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, making him North Korea's ceremonial head of state, a position he held until March 2026. Throughout his career, he received the Order of Kim Il Sung, the Order of Kim Jong Il, the Order of the National Flag, and was honored with the title Hero of the Republic in 1993.