Kim Chol Gyu
Kim Chol Gyu (left) accompanies KJU during a factory visit after he voted in local people’s assembly elections (Photo: KCNA).
Colonel General Kim Chol Gyu (Kim Ch’o’l-kyu) is deputy director of the Guard Command and head of the State Affairs Commission [SAC] Guard Department. He has directed Kim Jong Un’s (KJU; Kim Cho’ng-u’n) close escort personnel and security arrangements since KJU’s formal designation as hereditary successor in 2009.
According to his passport records, Col. Gen. Kim was born in 1952. His formative career is not currently known, but it is highly probable he worked in the Personal Secretariat under late leader Kim Jong Il (KJI; Kim Cho’ng-il) or the Guard Command. He was first observed in DPRK state media after KJU’s public debut in the fall of 2010, when he accompanied KJU to KJI’s inspection of apartment housing for North Korean performing artists. At that event he was ranked Lieutenant General.
Kim Chol Gyu (right) escorts KJU onto the platform of a special call expanded meeting of the WPK Political Bureau which expelled KJU’s uncle Jang Song Thaek held from the Party held at the Central Committee Headquarters’ conference hall in Pyongyang on 8 December 2013 (Photo: KCTV screengrab).
Following KJU’s succession, Col. Gen. Kim emerged as KJU’s personal security manager in 2012 replacing Choe Pyong Ryul (Ch’oe Pyo’ng-ryul), who held the same role for KJI. One of his more extraordinary public appearances occurred in December 2013 when he accompanied KJU onto the platform of a special-call Political Bureau meeting at which KJU’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek (Chang So’ng-t’aek) was removed from office and placed under arrest.
Kim Chol Gyu directed security arrangements during KJU’s visits to PRC, Singapore, Vietnam and Russia. At these various high-level events and interactions, Col. Gen. Kim was observed conferring with and instructing KJU’s bodyguards. When KJU went on an evening walking tour around his accommodation in Singapore, Col. Gen. Kim acted as his main bodyguard to compensate for a relatively light protective detail around the leader. When KJU attended events marking the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the DPRK, Col. Gen. Kim’s role in directing KJU’s protective detail was assumed by Military Security Command [MSC] Director Gen. Jo Kyong Chol (Cho Kyo’ng-ch’o’l) on an interim basis.
Kim Jong Un walks through Singapore during the evening of June 11, 2018 with Col. Gen. Kim Chol Gyu standing next to him (2nd right) (Photo: KCNA/KNS).
Kim Chol Gyu (right) accompanies KJU onto the leadership reviewing stand at the 8 February 2023 parade marking the anniversary of the foundation of North Korea’s armed forces (Photo: KCNA).
In his current position as head of the SAC Guard Department, Kim Chol Gyu serves as a bridge between KJU’s close escort service in the Central Committee Guard Department, the outer ring in the Guard Department and the mechanized and logistical personnel of the Guard Command. His current SAC position also indicates that Kim Chol Gyu manages close protection, security and transportation for KJU’s family, his sister Kim Yo Jong (Kim Yo’-cho’ng) and senior DPRK Government officials.
As of 2024, Col. Gen. Kim has gradually curtailed his attendance at KJU’s public engagements and on-site inspections.
