Gen. Kang Sun Nam
Kang Sun Nam (2nd right) attends a March 2023 tactical nuclear weapons drill (Photo: KCNA).
updated 20 November 2024
Gen. Kang Sun Nam (Kang Sun-nam) is former Minister of National Defense. He is also a Member of the Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK] Central Committee and a deputy to the Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA].
Kang joined the cohort of Korean People’s Army [KPA] general-grade officers in April 2008. In the early 2010’s he was appointed commander of the 108th Mechanized Division. In 2016 he was appointed Vice Minister of National Defense and elected an alternate (candidate) member of the WPK Central Committee during the 7th Party Congress. As Vice Minister, Kang discharged several public affairs and foreign relations functions, particularly with Iran.
Kang Sun Nam speaks at an October 2020 mass rally in his capacity as Vice Minister of National Defense (Photo: KCTV screen grab).
In 2021, Kang Sun Nam crossed over from the uniformed KPA to civilian status. At the 8th Party Congress in January 2021, he was upgraded to full member status on the WPK Central Committee and was appointed WPK Civil Defense Department Director. He also assumed command of the Worker-Peasant Red Guard, the leading branch of North Korea’s reserve military training units.
Kang was appointed Minister of National Defense in December 2022. In line with this position, he was also elected an alternate (candidate) member of the WPK Political Bureau and a member of the WPK Central Military Commission. He was elevated to full member status on the Political Bureau in 2023. On at least three occasions, Kang directly interacted with Kim Ju Ae (Kim Chu-a’e), daughter of Kim Jong Un (KJU; Kim Cho’ng-u’n).
Kim Jong Un and Minister of National Defense Kang Sun Nam bow in front of a monument during a visit to the Patriotic Martyrs’ Cemetery on 19 May 2023 to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of KPA Marshal Hyon Chol Hae (Photo: KCNA/Rodong Sinmun).
Gen. Kang Sun Nam greets former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at Pyongyang Airport in July 2023 (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap).
In July 2023, he received then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at Pyongyang Airport when Shoigu traveled to the DPRK to attend events related to the anniversary of the armistice of the Fatherland Liberation (Korean) War.
In September 2024, Kang Sun Nam was removed from office as Minister of National Defense and was replaced by one of his predecessors in the position, Gen. No Kwang Chol (No Kwang-ch’o’l).
