North Korea (Superthread)

[CougarKing]

Another example of the barbarism of this regime.

Huffington Post

North Korea 'Publicly Executed 80 People,' South Korean Paper Reports

North Korea publicly executed around 80 people earlier this month, many for watching smuggled South Korean TV shows, a South Korean newspaper reported Monday.

The conservative JoongAng Ilbo cited a single, unidentified source, but at least one North Korean defector group said it had heard rumours that lent credibility to the front-page report.

The source, said to be "familiar" with the North's internal affairs and recently returned from the country, said the executions were carried out in seven cities on November 3.

Reported by Agence France Presse
From The Huffington Post

 

[CougarKing]

More sanctions for the DPRK after the recent Iranian nuke program deal? Aren't Davies and other US officials being a tad bit optimistic that the sanctions course of action used with Iran will necessarily yield the same result with Pyongyang? This is just setting the stage for the DPRK to continue to blackmail the US/west with the usual cycle of saber rattling and brinksmanship.

Defense News

US Hints At More Sanctions On N. Korea After Iranian Deal
Nov. 25, 2013 - 04:37PM  |  By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

TOKYO — Washington’s point man on North Korea on Monday hinted at more sanctions against Pyongyang over its atomic weapons program in the wake of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Glyn Davies, the US special representative for North Korea policy, said he hoped quickening diplomacy examining when to resume stalled six-party talks would bear fruit.

(...)

Davies warned that it was difficult to draw direct comparison between North Korea and Iran, but highlighted the fact that the use of sanctions led to success with Tehran.

Davies said the United States was in close consultation with China to examine the right “threshold” to allow the resumption of six-party talks, which group the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

“We believe sanctions and pressure are key in sharpening choices that Pyongyang faces,” he said.

“Given North Korea’s continued flouting of its international obligations and international law, given its testing of nuclear devices, given its repeated threats of nuclear attack, its elevation of its nuclear weapons program and pursuit to its highest national priority, we will continue to keep pressure on North Korea, to keep the screws to North Korea,” he said.

If North Korea fails to comply with the demands of the international community, “we will have to amp up that pressure in order to continue to try to bring home to them that this is a mistake,” Davies said.

“There is still a room for diplomacy,” he added. “That’s why the pace of diplomacy has increased to see if we can agree on an appropriate threshold for six-party talks.”

“North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons and agree to begin that process. We are looking for concrete indications from Pyongyang of its commitment to do that,” Davies said.

 

[CougarKing]

A power broker is removed. Perhaps a power struggle has occurred?

CBC News

North Korea: Kim Jong-un's uncle dismissed from post

Jang Song Thaek was the National Defence Commission's vice chairman

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle, considered the power behind the throne, is believed to have been dismissed from his posts, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday, suggesting a huge upheaval in one of the world's most secretive states.

Jang Song Thaek was likely sacked as vice chairman of the North's powerful National Defence Commission and as a department head of the ruling Workers' Party, the lawmaker, Jung Cheong-rae, said citing a senior South Korean official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

2 aides allegedly executed

"The briefing by an NIS senior official was that they believe Jang Song Thaek has lost his posts," Jung told a news briefing.

Two close aides to Jang in the Workers' Party had also been executed for corruption, Jung said, also citing the briefing.

(...)

 

[tomahawk6]

Jang's wife remains in her post.

 

[57Chevy]

                                  Article from Mail Online is shared with provisions of the Copyright Act

Kim Jong Un's uncle executed for being a 'traitor' as North Korean state media describe him as 'worse than a dog'
Mark Duell, 12Dec

Jang Song Thaek was a mentor to Kim Jong Un and married to his aunt
He faced allegations of corruption, drug use, gambling and womanising
Pyongyang said Jang had generally led a 'dissolute and depraved life'

It comes days after Pyongyang announced that Jang Song Thaek had been removed from all his posts because of allegations of corruption, drug use, gambling, womanising and generally leading a ‘dissolute and depraved life’.

The state news agency KCNA said a tribunal examined Mr Jang's crimes, including ‘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.’


The report called him 'a traitor to the nation'. Mr Jang was considered the second most powerful official in the North. He was seen as helping Kim Jong Un consolidate power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, two years ago.

Some analysts see the purge as a sign of Kim Jong Un's growing confidence, but there has also been fear in Seoul that the removal of such an important part of the North's government - seen by outsiders as the leading supporter of Chinese-style economic reforms - could create dangerous instability or lead to a miscalculation or attack on the South.

Tensions are still high on the Korean Peninsula following a torrent of threats in March and April by Kim Jong Un's government against Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, including vows of missile and nuclear strikes and warnings that Pyongyang would restart nuclear bomb fuel production.

Mr Jang was married to Kim Jong Un's aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, the younger sister of Kim Jong Il.

He was earlier described by state media as ‘abusing his power’, being ‘engrossed in irregularities and corruption’, and taking drugs and squandering money at casinos while undergoing medical treatment in a foreign country.

Article with photoshopping continues at link.

 

[Edward Campbell]

A power broker is removed. Perhaps a power struggle has occurred?

CBC News

Apparently his removal is permanent.

 

[FSTO]

Wow, just like the Stalin era!

Photoshoppers get busy!

 

[tomahawk6]

I think the Generals have control and the elimination of Jang further isolates Kim Jong Un as a figurehead.

 

[cupper]

Or maybe the Aunt finally had him offed for leaving the toilet seat up one too many times.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Unless the DPRK releases pictures from the execution ground, and they may, if it serves their domestic political interests, this may be the last image we have of Jang Song Thaek:

Source: The Straits Times

 

[tomahawk6]

Jang looks like he was punched a few times.Below is an image showing Jang's arrest.The nephew took a page out of Saddam's purge playbook.

 

[57Chevy]

This incident proves dissention within his ranks.
(We) The West, the whole world including China should strongly (*vigorously) condemn this murderous fool
which would/should cause further dissention, especially amongst the elite gong bearers.

Strike while the iron is hot.

:nod:


*vigorously

 

[tomahawk6]

Regime change will happen only by the Army and State Security.Since they find Kim Jong Un useful as their front man there will be no change.Of course a revolution could occur I just don't see it happening.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Jang Song Thaek was China's man in Pyongyang; he was the top official who went back and forth to Beijing, reassuring the men in the Zhongnanhai that there was some sort of a plan in the DPRK, a method to the apparent madness.

I'm guessing that the DPRK Army leadership is as loyal to Xi Jinping as it is to Kim Jong-un.

It's important to remember that, on balance, South Korea is more important to China that is North Korea ... a lot more important.

 

[tomahawk6]

Follow the money trail. :camo:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2013/12/12/2013121201756.html

Jang and his cronies either failed to deposit foreign currency earnings into Kim's overseas accounts or were caught skimming off them.

 

[CougarKing]

Or maybe the Aunt finally had him offed for leaving the toilet seat up one too many times.

Your remark be actually be closer to the truth considering how unscathed she seems after what happened to her husband:

From the Canadian Press via Yahoo News

Role of North Korean leader's aunt appears untouched after her husband's shocking execution
The Canadian PressBy Hyung-Jin Kim

SEOUL, South Korea - The aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been named to an ad-hoc state committee, the country's official media reported, an indication that the execution of her husband and the country's No. 2 has not immediately diminished her influence.

The fate of Kim Kyong Hui — a younger sister of late leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father — was questioned after North Korea announced Friday that her husband, Jang Song Thaek, was executed for trying to overthrow the government.

But her name appeared in a state media dispatch late Saturday alongside top officials on a funeral committee for fellow senior Workers' Party official Kim Kuk Thae, who died Friday. Her name appeared sixth in the dispatch, which listed more than 50 funeral committee members.

Considered extremely close to her brother Kim Jong Il, Kim Kyong Hui has risen through the ranks in recent years, helping to groom Kim Jong Un as the country's next leader and eventually take over power after his father's death in late 2011.

The 67-year-old holds a slew of top posts, including ruling Workers' Party secretary and four-star army general. Some analysts said she may be spared her husband's fate because she is directly related to the country's founder, Kim Il Sung, grandfather of Kim Jong Un.

Analysts said the dispatch suggested that Kim Kyong Hui's political standing hasn't been immediately affected by her husband's execution and that she may have even given her nephew the green light to fire Jang — but not to have him executed.

"Jang's purging may have taken place after Kim Kyong Hui consented to it," said analyst Hong Hyun-ik from the private Sejong Institute in South Korea. "She may have opposed Jang's death sentence, but she could have agreed on Jang being dismissed."

Kim and Jang, who married in 1972, had a dysfunctional marriage in recent years, and their only daughter committed suicide in 2006 while studying in Paris, according to South Korean media reports.

If her health condition allows it, Kim Kyong Hui is expected to join other top officials Tuesday and attend ceremonies marking the second anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death, Hong said.

Looking pale and gaunt lately in official appearances, Kim Kyong Hui's public activities have been sharply reduced in recent months amid media reports that she suffers liver, heart and other ailments.

Kim Jin Moo, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea Institute for Defence Analyses in Seoul, said that Jang's execution may have been possible because Kim Kyong Hui had not been actively engaged in politics due to her reported health problems.

Jang's execution was shocking because it was carried out only a few days after his dismissal from all posts. It's unusual for the country to publicize any purging and execution of senior officials to the outside world. Many North Korea observers said that the moves were aimed at strengthening Kim's power, but that they also indicate Kim still lacks the same absolute power held by his father.

Kim, the North Korea expert, said that Jang's execution and frequent personnel reshuffles that Kim Jong Un has undertaken over the past two years show that the young leader doesn't appear to have confidence in who to trust as he reshapes a government dotted with people from his father's era.

"Dictators always feel uneasy," he said.

 

[tomahawk6]

Jang put alot of his own people in key positions in the government and military.I think there will be alot more executions.The old guard are on their way out literally,to be replaced by younger people.

 

[CougarKing]

Jang Song Thaek was China's man in Pyongyang; he was the top official who went back and forth to Beijing, reassuring the men in the Zhongnanhai that there was some sort of a plan in the DPRK, a method to the apparent madness.

Inklings of internal disunity? Or was Kim Jong Un's uncle Jang a bit presumptuous in thinking he could carve out his own internal fiefdom from North Korea's lucrative natural resource deals with China?


National Post link

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un executed his uncle over lucrative business deals: South Korean intelligence

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s intelligence chief said Monday that Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who was executed this month, apparently had not plotted a coup as Pyongyang had said, but had fallen victim to intrigue within the country’s elite over lucrative business deals, according to lawmakers in Seoul.

Jang, 67, who was once believed to be the second most powerful man in North Korea, was executed on Dec. 12 on charges of plotting to overthrow his nephew’s government, four days after he was hauled out of a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party at which he was stripped of all titles. The highly unusual public purge and execution of a member of the North’s ruling family has set off widespread speculation about the possibility of a power struggle within the secretive regime.

During a closed-door meeting Monday of the South Korean National Assembly’s intelligence committee, Nam Jae-joon, director of the National Intelligence Service, disputed Pyongyang’s assertion that Jang had tried to usurp his nephew’s power. Rather, he said, Jang and his associates had provoked the enmity of rivals within the North’s elite by dominating lucrative business deals, such as the sale of North Korean coal to China.

“There had been friction building up among the agencies of power in North Korea over privileges and over the abuse of power by Jang Song Thaek and his associates,” Nam was quoted as saying.


(...)

Nam, according to the lawmakers, said Jang’s rivals had gone to Kim with accusations of corruption on the part of Jang and his circle. When Jang’s associates, perhaps too confident of Jang’s influence with Kim, resisted the top North Korean leader’s order to give up some of their business arrangements, Kim saw it as a challenge to his authority, according to Nam.

“It appears that there is no big problem with Kim Jong Un’s grip on power, because the purge of Jang Song Thaek was not the result of a power struggle,” Nam was quoted as saying.

Still, Nam said, the fact that such behind-the-scenes squabbling had spun out of control, to the point that Kim ordered his own uncle’s execution, raises questions about the regime’s internal unity.


“The fissure within the regime could accelerate if it further loses popular support,” the lawmakers quoted Nam as saying.

Nam did not reveal the sources of his agency’s intelligence, but he said his spies had learned of Jang’s detention as early as mid-November.

Jang was the husband of Kim Kyong Hui, the only sister of Kim’s late father, the longtime North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Jang appeared to have rapidly expanded his influence since Kim Jong Il suffered a stroke in 2008, and he and his wife were widely seen as caretakers for the family regime as it groomed Kim Jong Un as heir.

Jang’s rising profile coincided with the purges of top generals and the curtailing of the military’s lucrative rights to trade in coal, iron ore and other natural resources, exports of which to China have become the biggest components of North Korean trade with the outside world in recent years.

The official verdict against Jang on Dec. 12 hinted at the business deals in which Jang and his associates were involved, saying that he had “instructed his stooges to sell coal and other precious underground resources at random.”

Nam told the committee Monday that Kim Jong Un’s aunt had retained her position in the North Korean hierarchy, while the purge of Jang’s other associates continued. But he denied news reports in South Korea and Japan that some of Jang’s associates were seeking political asylum in Seoul and Beijing after fleeing the purge at home.

Nam pointed to Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, the top political officer in the North Korean People’s Army, and Kim Won Hong, the head of the North’s secret police and its intelligence chief, as the regime’s new rising figures since Jang’s execution, according to the two lawmakers

(...)

 

[CougarKing]

Not a way anyone would want to go...

Overkill would be an understatement.

Jang Song-thaek's Aides Executed With Antiaircraft Machine Guns

Shocking new details have been revealed about the execution of Jang Song-thaek, Kim Jong Un's uncle.

The New York Times reports that the Jang's death was the end result of a brutal gun battle between Jang supporters and those of the regime over who controlled key land.

As the Times tells it, Kim's forces were ordered to take back control over important fishing grounds that Jang had previously seized, but Jang wouldn't give it up without a fight. The battle ended in the death of many of Kim's soldiers. Kim was furious and ordered that Jang's top aides be executed.

According to the Times, the two men were killed with antiaircraft machine guns rather than regular guns or rifles.

Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported that Kim was “very drunk” when he ordered the death of Jang's men.

More at...

The New York Times

Huffington Post

 

[tomahawk6]

Dead is dead no matter the means used.Kim Jong Il is earning his bones as the boss of bosses in NORK.Who will be next ? ;D