North Korea publicly executes two officials – South Korean newspaper

The second official was named as Hwang Min, a former agriculture ministry, who was executed “because policy proposals he had pushed for were seen as a direct challenge to the leadership of Kim Jong-un”, the newspaper reported.

The JoongAng Ilbo daily cited an unidentified source as saying Hwang Min, a former agriculture minister, and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry, had been executed for challenging the North Korean leader.

Yonhap reported earlier this month that North Korean officials who had failed to prevent recent defections – including the high-profile desertion by Thae Yong Ho, the deputy ambassador to London – were also mowed down by anti-aircraft fire in a series of executions ordered Kim. “The charges are obviously trumped up, and this is how promotion or demotion often works in totalitarian states without legitimate venues for opposition”.

The congress came as more North Koreans including members of the elite have been defecting to South Korea amid the leader’s reign of terror.

North Korea rarely announces or confirms its executions and some previous media reports have later been proved incorrect.

The pair were executed by anti-aircraft gun at a military academy in Pyongyang.

Mr Ri “dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim”, the source said.

Ri Yong-jin is not the first official to be killed by AA guns for falling asleep – past year South Korea’s spy agency said it had “credible information” that People’s Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol met the same fate.

There was no immediate comment from the South Korean government regarding Tuesday’s report.

“I don’t think there has been a fracture”, he said.