Hyon Yong-chol (1947/1953-30 April 2015) was the Minister of the People's Armed Forces (Minister of Defense) of North Korea from 2014 to 2015, succeeding Jang Jong-nam. He was executed in 2015 for being disrespectful to Kim Jong-un.
Biography[]
Hyon Yong-chol was born in 1947 or 1953. In July 2012 he was appointed as Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army after Ri Yong-ho was dismissed, but in November 2012, he was demoted to General. In June 2014 he was made the Minister of the People's Armed Forces of North Korea, a position equivalent to Minister of Defense. On 30 April 2015, he was reported to have been executed for showing disrespect to Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, as he had been caught sleeping at a rally for the Supreme Leader. On 13 May 2015, South Korea claimed that North Korea executed its defense chief with AA gun fire in front of a crowd of North Korean soldiers; this news came three days after former Minister of Defense Kim Kyok-sik died of acute respiratory failure.