O Kuk Ryol, winner of Kim Il Sung Order and Kim Jong Il Order and twice DPRK Hero and an advisor to the former Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, passed away to our regret due to acute cardiac insufficiency at the age of 93 at 09:00 on February 9, Juche 112(2023).

An obituary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was issued on Friday.

According to the obituary, O Kuk Ryol was a revolutionary fighter who remained faithful to President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il and a veteran revolutionary who made a contribution to the sacred cause for developing our Party and state and firmly consolidating the national defence capability under the great trust of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un.

Born into a family of a revolutionary in the period of the Japanese imperialists’ colonial rule over Korea, he suffered all sorts of persecution and maltreatment in an alien land.

Under the bosom of the President after the liberation of Korea, he grew up to be a backbone carrying on the lifeblood of the revolution at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.

During the Fatherland Liberation War, he destroyed the U.S. imperialist air pirates to fully display the indomitable spirit and bravery of the heroic Korean People’s Army (KPA) as a competent commanding officer of the Air Force, thus making a contribution to bringing about a war victory.

Thanks to the great political trust of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, he was honored of being a general officer at his thirties.

He made a great contribution to thoroughly implementing our Party’s Juche-oriented idea and line on the army-building and rapidly increasing the KPA’s fighting efficiency while consecutively working as vice-commander and commander of KPA Air Force, first vice-chief of the KPA General Staff and director of its Operation Department and chief of the General Staff.

He, who had worked at a responsible post of the Party Central Committee for a long period, assumed a heavy responsibility of vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission during the important historic period of succession to the revolutionary cause of Juche, set an example in remaining faithful to the leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un as a veteran cadre of the Party and state and thus made a great contribution to strengthening the national power and victorious advancing socialist construction.

He remained loyal to the cause of our Party till the last moment of his life and was respected by the Korean people and service personnel for his transparent revolutionary principle and simple and honest traits.

He worked hard to strengthen our state and army and promote the people’s well-being, upholding the revolutionary cause of Juche with his cleanest and purest loyalty to the leader and invariable faith and conscience as befits the descendant of a loyalist of the first generation of the revolution. Thanks to his prominent feats, the name of the revolutionary and patriotic family put forward by the Party has shined further.

Though he passed away, the devoted efforts and feats he made for the Party and the revolution and the cause of building a powerful socialist country will remain long.

Rodong Sinmun