General Kim Yong-chol

Former North Korea spy chief becomes the most high-profile North Korean official to visit the U.S. in nearly 20 years


2006-08: Rises to prominence as Pyongyang's chief military negotiator during inter-Korean talks

2009: Named director of General Reconnaissance Bureau, unit tasked with cyber-warfare and intelligence gathering

2010: Accused of masterminding attack on South Korea warship Cheonan in which 46 seamen were killed, and shelling attack on Yeonpyeong island, which killed two South Korean civilians

2014: Reportedly oversees hack of Sony Pictures over American comedy film The Interview, which lampoons Kim Jong-un’s regime

2016: Appointed director of United Front Department – civilian intelligence agency which handles
inter-Korean affairs

Feb 2018: Attends closing ceremony of Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, where he sits close to Ivanka Trump, daughter of U.S. President

May 30: Flies to New York as moves to reschedule cancelled U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12 gather pace


Sources: North Korea Leadership Watch, BBC, Time 
Pictures: AP, Getty Images 
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