PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) —
North Korea on Friday announced the execution of Kim Jong Un's uncle, calling
the leader's former mentor a traitor who tried to overthrow the state.
The announcement came only days
after Pyongyang announced through state media that Jang Song Thaek — long
considered the country's No. 2 power — had been removed from all his posts
because of allegations of corruption, drug use, gambling, womanizing and
leading a "dissolute and depraved life."
The state news agency KCNA said
a tribunal examined 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" and "worse than a dog."
Jang was seen as helping Kim
Jong Un consolidate power after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, two years
ago. Jang was the latest and most significant in a series of personnel
reshuffles that Kim has conducted in an apparent effort to bolster his power.
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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment