Yang Hyong-sop


Yang Hyong-sop 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. He subsequently served as Vice President of the Presidium of the SPA from 1998 to 2019.

Life and career

Yang was born on 1 October 1925, in Hamhung, Kankyōnan-dō, Korea, Empire of Japan. He attended Moscow State University and Kim Il Sung University, and was married to Kim Shin-sook, a cousin of Kim Il Sung. According to the official biography released by the Korean Central News Agency, he joined the Korean People's Army in June 1950 ; after graduating from Kim Il Sung University, he served as section chief and then secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Director of the Central Party School, Minister of Higher Education, and President of the. He was elected Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly in 1983, after having been a vice-chairman since 1962; in this capacity, he assumed the functions of de facto head of state after Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, as the post of President of the Republic was never reassigned; however, actual power was held by Kim Jong Il. In 1998 a new Constitution passed the President's powers to the President of the Presidium; in the same year, Yang was replaced by Kim Yong-nam in that capacity, but continued to serve as vice-president again. He was also a member of the Politburo of the Workers' Party. On 6 January 2007, at a mass rally in Pyongyang, he gave a speech praising the North Korean government for building nuclear weapons. Yang Hyong-sop died of a stroke on 13 May 2022, at the age of 96.

Career accomplishments