He has played on 44 occasions for the North Korean national team, scoring a goal in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup against Kyrgyzstan.
Ri Chol-myong was a part of the squad in the 2010 Asian Games.
Korea DRR lost 8–9 in a penalty shoot-out in the hands of UAE in the quarter-finals.
Korea DPR lost because of the penalty Ri missed.
This biographical article related to North Korean association football is a stub.