North Korea has put to death a vice premier and sent two other officials away for re-education, South Korea says, following media reports of a high profile execution in the secretive state.
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South Korea’s unification ministry said on August 31, 2016, that North Korea has executed Kim Yong-jin, a North Korean vice premier, by firing squad last month.
Little is known about Kim Yong Jin, who was last mentioned by North Korea’s state news agency on June 15 when it reported he attended an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of North Korea’s taekwondo federation.
Kim Yong-chol, who was subsequently reinstated this month, is likely to be tempted to prove his loyalty by committing provocative acts against the South, the official said.
The unification ministry, the government department which manages relations with the North is, along with the spy agency, the South’s primary source of information about Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-un uses an anti-aircraft gun to execute one high-ranking official for sleeping in a meeting and another for coming up with his own idea.
Chang Yong-suk, a North Korea expert at Seoul National University, said the execution of Kim Yong Jin suggests the regime is anxious.
News of the reclusive state’s new purges comes after the South said North Korea’s deputy ambassador in London had defected and arrived in the South with his family, dealing an embarrassing blow to Kim’s regime.
Most notably, Kim’s uncle Jang Song Thaek was executed in 2012 for factionalism and crimes considered damaging to the economy.
Ri Yong-gil was widely reported to have been executed in February but when he made an appearance at North Korea’s party congress it highlighted just how hard it is to get accurate information from the North.
North Korea itself very rarely provides confirmation of such reports. A North Korean general who reportedly had been executed appeared at a ruling Workers’ Party Congress in May.
North Korea also has test-fired numerous missiles in a show of strength as it tries to develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the US mainland.
Hwang was purportedly killed for making policy proposals that were seen as a direct threat to Kim’s leadership whereas Ri was said to have been executed for falling asleep during a meeting presided over by Kim, according to The Telegraph.
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According to South Korean newspaper Joongang Ilbo, Hwang Min, a former agriculture minister was also sentenced to death. In May, a former North Korean military official, who South Korea had said was executed, was found to be alive and holding several senior-level positions.
