O Jin-u

O Jin-u (오진우; March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician.

He served with Kim Il Sung's partisan unit and eventually rose through the ranks of the North Korean Army.

Born into a poor peasant family in Bukcheong, South Gyeongsang Province, O moved to Manchuria in 1933 and participated in anti-Japanese activity.

In 1933, during the Japanese colonial period, he participated in Kim Il Sung's anti-Japanese guerrillas and was mainly active in the Dongman region and East Man region and after the Japanese army's subjugation activities against the anti-Japanese armed groups intensified, he evacuated to the Soviet Union with Kim Il Sung and enlisted in the Soviet Army to serve as a non-commissioned officer.

During his partisan activities, he joined with Kim Il Sung to serve as a military officer in the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army in 1938.

After the Korean War broke out, he became the Commander of the 43rd Division (North Korea).

He distinguished himself during the Korean War and was a trusted adviser of Kim Il Sung until his death, also being his chief guard in 1945.

Thanks to his relationship with Kim Il Sung, O Jin-u was able to enjoy wealth and fame, this lasted even under Kim Jong Il.

Then, on September 19, 1945, he returned to Wonsan Port with Kim Il Sung as a member of Kim Il Sung's 88th International Brigade Chosun Operation Group.

At the time of entry, Kim Il Sung still went by 'Kim Seong-ju'.

Returning to North Korea, O Jin-u was appointed as the head of the Pyongyang Police Station, starting with the head of the Supreme Command's escort bureau, and then in September 1946, he became the military vice-president of the Central Security Officer School.

In February 1948, he joined the recently established Korean People's Army and served as the chief of staff of a brigade.

In 1949, he served as the principal of the military school.

O Jin-u was one of the founders of the North Korean Army, helping set up the groundwork for the service.

This concurred with his ascent to the top leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, becoming a Central Committee member in 1954, a Political Committee (former name of the Politburo) member in 1966, a Secretariat member in 1968 and a Presidium member in 1977.

As the Head of the Korean People's Army, O Jin-u is seen as the main perpetrator of both the Korean axe murder incident and the Rangoon bombing as both were committed by the military.

During his rise, he greatly helped Kim Il Sung in his purges of the military.

In the beginning, he was more favorable to Kim Jong Il's half-brother, Kim Pyong-il because he is regarded as more capable than Kim Jong Il who had no military experience even though he helped raise Kim Jong Il while serving as a chief guard.

From his anti-Japanese partisan viewpoint, Kim Jong Il did not look like an orthodox communist.

O Jin-u, being the most powerful figure of the Korean People's Army who commanded the army with the absolute trust of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il who regards O as a formidable opponent to have, begins to convince O Jin-u, who was trusted by his father, rather than eliminate him, and eventually, he turned O Jin-u into a supporter of Kim Jong Il.

This change was seen as the main reason why Kim Pyong-il was dropped as a successor.

After that, O Jin-u played a leading role in establishing Kim Jong Il as the successor.

After the war, he was the commanding general of the 3rd Division (North Korea) and in 1958, he was awarded the Order of the National Flag.

He had a close relationship with Kim Jong Il in, starting at his birth, in where O treated him like his own son.

He was appointed chief of staff of the Korean People's Air Force in 1958, vice-minister of the Ministry of People's Security in 1962, General in 1963, director of the KPA General Political Bureau in 1967 and Chief of the General Staff in 1968.

A deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly since 1960, O was appointed member of the top Central People’s Committee immediately after its establishment in 1972, as well as vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission and Minister of the People's Armed Forces in 1976.

Becoming extremely close to Kim Il Sung, he is credited among the top officials who "proposed" Kim Jong Il to be Kim Il Sung's heir at a Central Committee plenum in 1974.

and helped him take control of the military O championed Kim Jong Il's cause, particularly within the military.

He was the Minister of Armed Forces from May 1976 until his death in February 1995.

O was considered the third-most powerful person in North Korea, after Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, therefore making him the most powerful person that possessed no blood relations to the Kim family.

He was considered by many as a hardliner and advocated strongly for North Korea's nuclear program.

He led the 766th Independent Infantry Regiment in the attack against the Busan Ring Defensive Circle.

O rose rapidly through military ranks: he was promoted to the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces in 1976 after serving as the head of the 3rd Military Academy in Hoeryong, the division commander, the corps commander, the group commander, the general staff of the People's Army, and the vice-minister of the National Security Agency.

He was also promoted to Vice Marshal in 1985 and Marshal in 1992, one of only three military officers in the North Korean Armed Forces to be granted the rank.

In 1990, after the collapse of the socialist bloc, he led the emergency system.

After Kim Jong Il was made Chairman of the National Defence Commission in 1993, O replaced him as its first vice-chairman.

He also was the second-ranking member of the Kim Il-sung funeral committee in 1994, immediately beneath Kim Jong Il.

He was also the last surviving WPK Presidium member along with the new leader.

According to the testimony of film director Shin Sang-ok, who was abducted from North Korea, "O Jin-u once said that if he was drunk, he would wipe out Busan in a week if the general commanded him. Lunch in Daejeon, dinner in Busan... "

In January 2017, it was reported that his three sons, O Il-hun, O Il-jong and O Il-su had been "purged" by Kim Jong Un.