North Korean Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol is said to have angered Kim Jong-unNorth Korea TV (screen grab)
North
Korea has executed its defence chief on treason charges after he fell
asleep at an event attended by leader Kim Jong-un, South Korean media
quoted Seoul's National Intelligence Service as saying in a briefing to
lawmakers on Wednesday.
North Korean Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol was purged and then executed by firing squad, media reported.
Hundreds of officials watched Hyon's execution on 30 April 30, Han
Ki-beom, the deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency, told a
parliamentary committee, the Yonhap news agency reported. Kim Jong-un scales North Korea’s tallest mountain gaining energy more than what nuclear weapons provideKCNA via Reuters
Hyon, who was appointed to the post of Minister of the People's Armed
Forces less than a year ago, was apparently caught dozing off during
formal military events and also talked back to the dictator Kim on
several occasions, Yonhap said.
The Yonhap report was based on a briefing by a ruling Saenuri party lawmaker who attended the parliamentary committee meeting.
Han told the committee that Hyon was executed with anti-aircraft fire
– a method cited in various unconfirmed reports as being reserved for
senior officials of whom the leadership wishes to make examples.
In North Korea, the defence minister is mainly in charge of logistics
and international exchanges. Policy-making is handled by the powerful
National Defence Commission and the party Central Military Commission.
The execution comes after South Korea's spy agency said late last
month that Kim ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as
punishment for challenging his authority.
No danger to Kim's brutal regime
"North Korean internal politics is very volatile these days," Michael
Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the
38 North think tank, told Reuters.
"Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong-un
within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership," he
added.
"There is no clear or present danger to Kim Jong-un's leadership or
stability in North Korea, but if this continues to happen into next
year, then we would seriously have to start looking at a contingency
plan for the Korean peninsula."
In 2013, Kim purged and executed his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, once
considered the second most powerful man in Pyongyang's leadership
circle, for corruption and committing crimes damaging to the economy,
along with a group of officials close to him.
Pyongyang's military leadership has been in a state of perpetual reshuffle since Kim took power.
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