Frank Wanjiru
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 12, 2012
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Inasemekana kuwa Makamu Waziri Mkuu wa Rais wa Korea Kaskazini amenyongwa Mwezi wa Tano Mwaka huu kwa amri ya Rais wa Nchi hiyo Kim Jong Un.
North Korea 'executes vice premier over forestry dispute'
Choe Yong-Gon executed for voicing frustration at the policies of leader Kim Jong-un, says South Korea news agency
Choe Yong-Gon, left, has been executed for voicing frustration at the policies of leader Kim Jong-un
North Korean's vice-premier has reportedly been executed by firing squad after voicing dissent to the forestry policies of Kim Jong-Un, the country's young dictator.
South Korean media reported that Choe Yong-Gon, 63, was killed after less than a year in his job - the latest casualty in a series of high-level purgeswithin the isolated Communist nation.
North Korean has not officially confirmed the execution, reported to have taken place in May, but Mr Choe has not been seen in public since last December and Pyonyang announced his replacement in July.
Reports of Mr Choe's death come close on the heels of the execution of Hyon Yong-Chol, the defence minister, who was reportedly blown apart by an anti-aircraft gun in April after falling asleep at a military parade.
He is said to have been killed in front of a large crowd of government officials as a way of setting an example to for Mr Kim's other subordinates.
The young dictator's own uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, was killed in late 2013 after being branded "despicable human scum" by state media and charged with treason and corruption.
Unlike other purges, which happen in secret, Mr Jang's death was publicly trumpeted by the North Korean regime, which accused him of having "perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery".
Dozens of other officials are believed to have been killed since Mr Kim took power following the death of his father, Kim Jung-Il in 2011.
The latest victim, Mr Choe, is reported to have taken office in June last year. He was once led the North Korean delegation in economic cooperation talks with South Korea. He was also a former member of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North Korean parliament.
South Korea's ministry of unification, which is responsible for relations with the country's Communist neighbour, said it was "closely monitoring the possibility of any changes in Choe's circumstances".
Reports of executions in North Korea are sometimes attributed to South Korean intelligence officials but often rely on anonymous sources.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said a person "with knowledge of the North" had reported Mr Choe's execution.
It remains unclear whether Mr Kim's habit of killing off senior officials is fueled by the details of each individual's case or if it is part of a more systematic effort to consolidate his own power within North Korea.
The North Korean government is a labyrinth of overlapping committees and Mr Choe is believed to have been one of at least seven vice-premiers.
Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, said meanwhile that the international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme could help restart negotiations between North Korea and the international community.
There "may be lessons to be drawn around the world including on tackling nuclear proliferation" in North Korea," Mr Hammond said during a visit to China.
North Korea is believed to have illegally developed an arsenal of several dozen basic nuclear weapons despite international sanctions and prohibitions.
Talks between the North and five world powers began in 2003 but were suspended in 2009 after progress ground to a halt.
There was a brief hope the talks could resume in 2012 after North Korea agreed to halt weapons tests in exchange for US food aid. But relations quickly froze again after North Korea fired a long range rocket towards Japan.
The project fell apart after only a minute and fell harmlessly into the ocean.
North Korea 'executes vice premier over forestry dispute' - Telegraph
