Kim Jong-un ‘has executed 15 officials this year’

NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year who were accused of challenging his authority, South Korea’s spy agency told politicians yesterday.

Politician Shin Kyoung Min said National Intelligence Service chief Lee Byoung Ho also told legislators in a closed-door briefing that Mr Kim appeared likely to visit Russia next month to attend the 70th anniversary of its victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Since taking over North Korea’s leadership after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011, Mr Kim has removed key members of the old guard.

The process was highlighted by 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.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the Seoul-based University of North Korean Studies, said the purges underline Mr Kim’s inexperience. He added the young dictator is struggling to find ways to control his regime.