North Korea executes Kim Jong Un's uncle

[Jazzy]

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea said Friday that it has executed Kim Jong Un's uncle, calling the leader's former mentor a traitor who tried to seize power and overthrow the state.

The stunning announcement came only days after Jang Song Thaek - long considered the country's No. 2 power - was removed from all his posts because of a long list of allegations, including corruption, drug use, gambling and womanizing.

In an unusually detailed announcement, the official news agency KCNA said Jang had been tried for "such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state."
It called him a "traitor to the nation for all ages" and "worse than a dog."

Kim Jong Un has overseen other high-profile purges since taking after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, two years ago. But none of the purges have been as public - or as close to home - as the downfall of Jang, who was seen as helping the younger Kim consolidate power.

Analysts have said that Kim Jong Un has acted swiftly and ruthlessly to bolster his own power and show strength, but there has been fear in Seoul that the removal of Jang and his followers could lead to instability or lead to a miscalculation or attack on the South. Jang had been seen by outsiders as the leading supporter of Chinese-style economic reforms.

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One has to wonder how much of a negative impact this will have on North Korea’s relations with China.

Your thoughts?

 

[DrLeftover]

I wonder if they checked with Mr Rodman before they lined up the firing squad?

 

[DrLeftover]

31 December 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has spoken of the "elimination of factionalist filth" in his first public reference to the execution of his uncle.

In a new year message broadcast on state TV, he said "resolute action" had strengthened the country's unity.

Last month North Korea announced it had executed Chang Song-thaek for "acts of treachery".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25565645