---
title: "Hyon Yong Chol: defence minister | Save North Korea"
description: "Hyon Yong-chol was a North Korean general and Workers' Party of Korea politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2015."
url: "https://savenorthkorea.org/people/hyon-yong-chol"
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  ko: https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/people/hyon-yong-chol
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---

[People](https://savenorthkorea.org/people) · military · purged

# Hyon Yong Chol 현영철 

defence minister

executed Died aged 62 

Hyon Yong-chol was a North Korean general and Workers' Party of Korea politician. He served as Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2015\. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyon%5FYong-chol)

Born

1953-01-11, Kyongsong County

Died

2015-04-30, Kang Kon Military Academy, Sunan, Pyongyang (Execution by anti-aircraft artillery (ZPU-4) for insubordination)

Height

Unknown 

Weight

Unknown 

Military rank

General of the army

Status as of

2015-04-30[source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyon%5FYong-chol)

Also known as

Hyon Yong-chol, General Hyon

## Positions

1. 2014–2015 Minister of People's Armed Forces · Ministry of National Defence [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyon%5FYong-chol)
2. 2012–2013 Chief of the General Staff Department · KPA General Staff Department [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyon%5FYong-chol)
3. ?–now defence minister[source](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q702412)

## Notable

- 2015-05 Briefed by the South Korean National Intelligence Service as having been executed by anti-aircraft gunfire on April 30, 2015 for dozing off at an event and talking back to Kim Jong Un.[source](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32716749)

Machine-readable: [/api/people/hyon-yong-chol](https://savenorthkorea.org/api/people/hyon-yong-chol) · [Wikidata Q702412](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q702412) · Photo: [KCNA via Ministry of Unification North Korea Information Portal](https://nkinfo.unikorea.go.kr/nkp/prsn/view.do?menuId=PEOPLE%5F86&prsnMngNo=24506) (Fair use)