Yon Hyong-muk (; November 3, 1931 – October 22, 2005), also spelt Yong Hyong-muk, was a long-serving politician in

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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and at the height of his career the most powerful person in that country outside the Kim family. He was Prime Minister of North Korea from 1988 to 1992. He was born in

Kyongwon County Kyŏngwŏn County is a ''kun'', or county, in North Hamgyong province, North Korea, located at , formerly known as Saebyŏl. It is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the north and east, Kyonghung to the southeast, Hoeryong to the sout ...

, Kankyōhoku-dō,

Korea, Empire of Japan From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

(now in

North Hamgyong Province North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, S ...

, North Korea) and had a strong revolutionary background in his family. He was educated locally and employed as a farm worker. Yon was educated in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and by the 1950s, he was firmly established within the hierarchy of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), also called the Korean Workers' Party (KWP), is the sole ruling party of North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is ...

. In 1967 he was selected as a deputy to the

Supreme People's Assembly The Supreme People's Assembly (SPA; ) is the legislature of North Korea. It is ostensibly the highest organ of state power and the only branch of government in North Korea, with all state organs subservient to it under the principle of unified ...

. During the 1970s, Yon further advanced in the Party and by the middle 1980s he was regarded as the fourth most powerful person in North Korea after

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

, and veteran

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

and

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

O Jin-u O Jin-u (; March 8, 1917 – February 25, 1995) was a North Korean general and politician. He was a close associate of Kim Il Sung. O served under Kim in the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, and then as commander of Kim's bodyguard. He was a ...

. He was a candidate member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

from the early 1980s and became Prime Minister of North Korea in 1989. During this era, Yon served as Minister of Heavy Industry and this consolidated his role in the North's large armaments sector. In this period, as Kim Il Sung and O Jin-u were both already past eighty, Yon took an important role in relations between North and South Korea. He worked hard in this field as Prime Minister and was regarded as the chief negotiator behind the '' Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression and Exchanges and Cooperation between the South and the North'' (also known as the "South-North Basic Agreement") of 1991. At the time he called it "the most valuable achievement ever made between the South and North Korean authorities." For the rest of the 1990s, Yon was the chief figure behind efforts to reconcile the two Koreas. By the 2000s, Yon was declining in health and his role in North Korean politics had become largely ceremonial by the time he died - presumably of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

for which he had received treatment in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 2004 at the well protected Central Clinical Hospital. Yon was a recipient of the Order of Kim Il Sung, Hero of Labor and other awards.

Death and funeral

Yon died on 22 October 2005. A funeral committee chaired by Jo Myong-rok was appointed. Its members were: # Jo Myong-rok #

Kim Yong-nam Kim Yong-nam (; born 4 February 1928) is a North Korean retired politician who served as the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, from 1998 until 2019. Due to holding the office, he was considered the hea ...

# Pak Pong-ju # Kim Yong-chun # Kim Il-chol # Jon Pyong-ho # Ri Yong-mu #

Choe Thae-bok Choe Thae-bok (; 1 December 1930 – 20 January 2024) was a North Korean politician. He was a member of the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea, and was chairman (speaker) of the Supreme People's Assembly for nearly 21 ...

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 f ...

# Choe Yong-rim # Kim Ki-nam # Kim Jung-rin #

Hong Song-nam Hong Song-nam (; 2 October 1929 – 31 March 2009) was a North Korean politician who was the Premier of North Korea from 1998 to 2003. He succeeded Kang Song-san. Born in Kangwon Province, he graduated from the Kim Il Sung University and studi ...

# Kwak Pom-gi # Ro Tu-chol # Jon Sung-hun # Kim Yong-dae # Ryu Mi-yong # Paek Se-pong # Pak Yong-sok #

Pak Nam-gi Pak Nam-gi or Park Nam-ki (21 February 1934 – 17 March 2010) was, until as late as January 2010, Director of the Planning and Finance Department of the ruling party of North Korea. There are doubts about his date of birth, with at least two un ...

# Ri Kwang-ho # # Ri Yong-chol # Ri Je-kang # Ri Jae-il # Ju Kyu-chang # Kim Jong-im # Kim Yang-kon # Ju Sang-song # Ri Myong-su # Hyon Chol-hae # Kim Ki-son # Pak Jae-kyong # Kim Yang-chom # Pak Sung-won #

Choe Pu-il General Choe Pu-il (; born 6 March 1944) is a North Korean politician who served as head of North Korea's Ministry of Social Security (North Korea), Ministry of People's Security. Biography In April 1992, he was promoted to major general and to ...

# Ri Thae-won # Sim Sang-dae # Ri Thae-nam # Kim Phyong-hae # Kim Rak-hui # Ro Pae-kwon # Kim Kyong-ho # Pak To-chun # Kim Kyong-ho # Ryom Sun-gil # Kang Chang-uk # Pak Sun-hui

Works

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References

{{NKPMs 1931 births 2005 deaths People from Kyongwon County Prime ministers of North Korea Vice premiers of North Korea North Korean military personnel Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in North Korea Recipients of the Order of Kim Il Sung Alternate members of the 6th Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea Burials at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery