Ryu Mi-yong (14 February 1921 – 23 November 2016) was the chairwoman of the

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

Chondoist Chongu Party The Chondoist Chongu Party is a popular front party in North Korea. The party was founded on 8 February 1946 by a group of followers of the Ch'ŏndogyo. The party increasingly came under the influence of the government over time and is a par ...

. She was a standing committee member of the 10th

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the unicameral legislature of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea. It consists of one deputy from each of the DPRK's 687 constituencies, elected to five-year ...

. She was known as a defector from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

to the North.

Biography

Ryu was the only daughter born in Harbin to

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

activist Ryu dong ryol.She married

Choe Deok-sin Choe Deok-sin (September 17, 1914 – November 14, 1989) was a South Korean Foreign Minister who later defected with his wife, Ryu Mi-yong, to North Korea. Choe was born in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province. In 1936, he graduated from ...

in 1937 in China. She and her husband

defected to the North in 1986. In 2000, she led a delegation of defectors to the South on an officially sanctioned reunion with family they left behind. Ryu died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

in November 2016. Ryu's second son, Choe In-guk, reportedly defected to North Korea in July 2019. Ryu had received the

Order of Kim Il-sung The Order of Kim Il-sung () is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Jong-il, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of Labour. The order, named after the country's first leader Kim Il-sung, was instituted in ...

Order of Kim Jong-il The Order of Kim Jong-il () is a North Korean order named after Kim Jong-il, the former leader of North Korea. It is the highest order of North Korea, along with the Order of Kim Il-Sung, and only second to one honorary title, the Hero of La ...

and National Reunification Prize. On her funeral committee were: #

Yang Hyong-sop Yang Hyong-sop (1 October 1925 – 13 May 2022) was a North Korean politician who served as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and Chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly from 1983 to 1998 (from 1994 it was for ...

Kim Yong-chol Kim Yong-chol (; born 1946) is a North Korean general and politician who currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea for South Korean affairs and head of the United Front Department. From Februar ...

# Kim Yong-dae #

Jon Yong-nam Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from " YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Ju Yong-gil JU may refer to: Names and people * Joo (Korean name), surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Jū (鞠), Chinese surname * Ru (surname), romanized Ju in Wade–Giles * Ji Ju, a semi-legendary ancestor of the Zhou dyn ...

# Ri Myong-gil #

Kim Jong-sung Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

# Ri Song-won #

Pak Myong-chol Pak Myong-chol (; born 15 September 1941) is a North Korean political figure who joined the 6th Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party in September 2010, along with Kim Jong-un. He has served in several important posts in North Korea, in ...

# Ri Kil-song # Yun Jong-ho

Awards and honors

A frame displaying Ryu's decorations was placed at the foot of her bier during her funeral.

Notes

References

1921 births 2016 deaths People from Harbin Chondoist Chongu Party politicians Leaders of political parties in North Korea South Korean defectors South Korean emigrants to North Korea 20th-century North Korean women politicians 20th-century North Korean politicians 21st-century North Korean women politicians 21st-century North Korean politicians Recipients of the National Reunification Prize Recipients of the Order of Kim Il Sung Recipients of the Order of Kim Jong Il Deaths from lung cancer {{NorthKorea-politician-stub