Seoul says Kim has killed 70 officials since taking power
SEOUL: Young North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has executed 70 officials since taking power in late 2011 in a “reign of terror” that far exceeds the bloodshed of his dictator father’s early rule, South Korean officials said yesterday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se compared Kim Jong-un’s 70 executions with those of his late father, Kim Jongil, whom he said executed about 10 officials during his first years in power. An official from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service confirmed that the spy agency believes Kim Jong-un has executed about 70 officials.
Mr Yun also said that the younger Mr Kim’s “reign of terror affects significantly” North Koreans working overseas by inspiring them to defect to the South.
North Korea, an authoritarian nation ruled by the Kim family since its founding in 1948, is secretive about its government’s inner workings and information collected is often impossible to confirm.
High-level government purges have a long history in North Korea. To strengthen his power, Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il-sung, removed pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese factions within the senior leadership after the 1950-53 Korean War. Highranking victims i ncluded Pak Hon-yong, former vicechairman of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and the country’s foreign minister, who was executed in 1955 after being accused of spying for the US.
Kim Jong-un has also removed key members of the old guard since taking power. The most spectacular purge to date was the 2013 execution of his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, for alleged treason. Mr Jang was married to Kim Jong-il’s sister and was once considered the second most powerful man in North Korea.
Experts say Mr Kim could be using fear to solidify his leadership, but those efforts could fail if he doesn’t improve the country’s shattered economy.