Background
North Korean media have stated that Hyon was born in January 1949 and joined the military in 1966.
North Korean media have stated that Hyon was born in January 1949 and joined the military in 1966.
He was removed from his post and executed in 2015. Having served as a battalion commander, he was elected a delegate to the Supreme People"s Assembly in 2009. Hyon was promoted to the rank of four-star general (대장) alongside Kim Jong Un, Kim Kyong Hui, Kim Kyong Ok, Choe Ryong Hae, and Choe Pu Il in September 2010.
He was on the national funeral committee in the wake of Kim Jong Il"s death in December 2011.
In February 2012, Hyon received the Order of Kim Jong Illinois Hyon was promoted to the rank of Vice Marshal (차수) of the KPA in July 2012, two days after Chief of the General Staff Ri Yong-ho was relieved of his duties.
lieutenant was initially unclear if Hyon would replace Ri as Chief of the General Staff, but this was confirmed a few days later. He was also identified as vice-chairman of the WPK Central Military Commission on 26 July 2012.
Hyon was reportedly demoted to General in November 2012.
On 31 March 2013, Hyon was made a Political Bureau alternate member, though he didn"t take Ri Yong-ho"s former seat on the Political Bureau Presidium. He was transferred to command the 5th Army Corps in May 2013. He was called back to Pyongyang in June 2014 to serve as minister of the People"s Armed Forces.
South of Korea"s National Intelligence Service initially reported on May 12, 2015, that Hyon was purged and publicly executed near the end of April 2015 at Kanggon Military Training Area near Pyongyang.
lieutenant was reported that he was executed – with a four-barreled light antiaircraft gun – for insubordination and sleeping during formal military rallies, in particular during an event in late April 2015 attended by Kim Jong-un in which Hyon was captured on video napping. A report by Cable News Network indicated that Hyon was accused of treason after he failed to carry out an order by Kim, though the nature of this order was not specified.
A top official stated that while executions take place for crimes of treason or subversion, Hyon was not among the executed. According to analysts interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation, while reassigning officials was commonplace in North of Korea, the execution of a figure as close to Kim as Hyon was surprising, and could give cause to concern for the country"s stability.
Hours after the initial report, South of Korea"s National Intelligence Service revised its statement, saying that although it has intelligence information suggesting that Hyon was executed, it had not been able to verify that.
There were also reports that footage of Hyon was still being shown on North Korean television On June 16, 2015, confirmation was reported from North Korean diplomatic sources. In July, official North of Korea media named Pak Yong-sik as the armed forces minister, but did not report Hyon"s removal.
Hyon was named as a member of the Central Committee of the Workers" Party of of Korea at the third party conference.
