Hyon was born on 13 August 1934 in Yanji, Jilin province in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

[2] During the Korean War, Hyon served as Kim Il Sung's bodyguard, a role which gave him "a place in North Korea's revolutionary history".

This is attested by photographs and television footage which shown Hyon accompanying Kim Jong Un in the late 2000s.

[4] In April 2012, he received important promotions as Vice Marshal, member of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces and director of the army's General Logistics Department.

Kim Jong Un personally bore his casket and placed earth upon his grave at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery.