Hwang Pyong-so

Hwang Pyong-so is a North Korean general and politician who holds the rank of Chasu (차수, Vice Marshal) in the Korean People's Army. He is a central leadership member of the Workers' Party of Korea.

In September 2010, Hwang was appointed an alternate member of the Party Central Committee, holding the position of vice-director of the Organization and Guidance Department since the early 2000s with a military and security portfolio. In March 2014 he was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly during the 2014 SPA election; during the same month, he was identified as the first vice-director of the party organization department.

On April 28, 2014 Korean Central News Agency reported that the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and National Defense Commission promoted Hwang to the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People’s Army on April 26. He was only first seen wearing the four stars of a full general on April 15, meaning he moved up two ranks – from colonel general in a short time. In an April 27 KCNA report on an artillery drill, Hwang was referred to for the first time as a member of the party Central Military Commission. Later on May 1 he was revealed to be the new chief of the KPA General Political Bureau, considered the seniormost position in the military after the supreme commander. He is seen as a key aide to Kim Jong-un.

Hwang is widely reported to have been a university classmate of Kim Jong-un’s aunt Kim Kyong Hui and reportedly maintained close ties with Kim Jong-un’s mother Ko Yong-hui.