Yon Hyong-muk

Yon Hyong - muk ( born November 3, 1931 in Kyongwon -gun, Hamgyŏng - pukto; † 23 October 2005) was a politician from North Korea.

Life

Yon Hyong - muk was the son of a partisan in the struggle against Japanese colonial rule in Korea. His family was so in North Korean society hierarchy for leadership elite. Yon was an important politician in the Ministry of Defence and here responsible for managing the defense industry. He was a close confidant of dictator Kim Jong- il second in command of the army after the dictator. From 1988 to 1992 he was the prime minister of the country in this capacity, he led a group that graduated some contracts with South Korea. This included an agreement on prevention of nuclear armament on the Korean Peninsula, but which had only small effects. He was deposed in connection with the food crisis in North Korea and sent to the province Chagang -do, where he led the local party organization in 1992. Later he returned to the capital Pyongyang, where he took a position in the Defence Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.

He died at the age of 73 years, probably due to pancreatic cancer. He was thus the third high-ranking politicians, who died in the mid-2000s, so that it was speculated then that a generational change in governance could be faster than generally expected. There were rumors, Yon had been murdered at the instigation of Kim Jong -il because he had openly criticized the policy of the leaders in the context of the bad economic situation in North Korea.