Nam Il
Nam Il (5 June 1915 – 7 March 1976) was a Russian-born North Korean military officer and co-signer of the Korean Armistice Agreement. Biography. Nam was born Yakov Petrovich Nam in the Russian Far East. Due to a Soviet policy, Nam's family, like many Koreans in Russia's Far East, were moved to Central Asia. He was educated at Smolensk Military School and in Tashkent. Nam became chief of staff of a Soviet Army division during World War II. He took part in some of the greatest battles, including Stalingrad. When not serving in the military , he worked in the education sector. In 1946, he went to work in the Soviet occupied North Korea, leaving behind a wife and daughter. After war broke out in 1950 he was appointed Chief of Staff, replacing Kang Kon who had been killed in action. In 1953, Nam became a General of the Army (대장, three-star rank at the time). When the Korean War reached a stalemate in July 1951, Nam served as the Communists' chief delegate at the armistice talks. He was famous for using an amber cigarette holder. After the war, Nam Il served as Minister of  Foreign Affairs. Along with another Soviet Korean Pak Chong-ae, he worked to help Kim Il-sung break free from Soviet influence. In 1957, he was promoted and became one of several deputy Prime Ministers. Nam, along with Pang Hak-se (the founder of the DPRK secret police), was one of only a few prominent Soviet Koreans who survived the purges of the 1950s. On 7 March 1976, it was announced that he had died when his car was crushed by a truck. Many suspected that this was not an accident, and some blamed Kim Jong-il, who by that  time was not powerful enough to simply order Nam be killed. Others said that it was done by Kim Il-sung. Nam Il's son, who lived in the Soviet Union, visited North Korea and attempted to investigate, but Pang Hak-se told him to go home and stop interfering in affairs which did not concern him. Nam was awarded a state funeral and was buried in Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery. Unlike some of his colleagues who were purged, Nam continues to appear in historical photographs.