O was born in Bukcheong,
South Gyeongsang Province, to a poor peasant family. In 1933, joined
anti-Japanese forces in
Manchuria and began a long association with Kim Il Sung. They joined the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army in 1938, returning to Korea in 1945 as part of the
88th Separate Rifle Brigade to found North Korea. O became the leader of the Pyongyang Police Station and Kim's bodyguard. In February 1948, he transferred to the new KPA. O started the
Korean War as commander of the
43rd Division. He led the
766th Independent Infantry Regiment during the
Battle of the Pusan Perimeter. After the war he was rapidly promoted through the military and political hierarchy. 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. In the
Workers' Party of Korea, he joined the
Central Committee in 1954, the
Political Committee in 1966, the
Secretariat in 1968 and the
Presidium in 1977. O Jin-u is held responsible for the
Korean axe murder incident and
Rangoon bombing as head of the KPA. He helped Kim Il Sung maintain control of the military. O initially supported
Kim Pyong-il succession Kim Il Sung; Kim Jong Il did not have military experience and did not look like an orthodox communist to O. O's switch to support Kim Jong Il was likely the decisive factor in securing the latter's succession. According to top officials, O "proposed" as Kim Il Sung 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. However, in contradiction to this report, in 2021, O Il-jong was elected as a member of the
Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea. == Illness and death ==