North Korea defence minister executed by anti-aircraft fire

[webfact]

N Korea defence minister executed: S Korea intelligence

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean Defence Minister Hyon Yong-Chol has been executed by anti-aircraft fire for disloyalty and showing disrespect to leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korea's intelligence agency said Wednesday.

Hundreds of officials watched Hyon’s execution on April 30, Han Ki-Beom, the deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency (NIS), told a parliamentary committee, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/N-Korea-defence-minister-executed-S-Korea-ntellige-30259970.html


-- The Nation 2015-05-13

[NeverSure]

Such a public and brutal method of execution as obliteration by anti-aircraft gun would emphasise the cost of disloyalty.

Intelligence reports always have to be treated with scepticism but, in this case, the claims of the South Korean agency will be easy to verify. If they are not true, the defence minister would appear again in public.

Earlier, the South Korean agency said that senior officials were being executed at the rate of one a week. It all adds up to a picture of a leader in Pyongyang who feels very insecure and who is dangerous in his insecurity.

LINK

[NeverSure]

I'd think some of those guys would bump that kid with the funny haircut off just to save themselves.

[Kerryd]

I guess he saves the dogs to use only on family members.

How his own people haven't put him out of their misery yet I'll never know.

[Anthony5]

Such a public and brutal method of execution as obliteration by anti-aircraft gun would emphasise the cost of disloyalty.

Intelligence reports always have to be treated with scepticism but, in this case, the claims of the South Korean agency will be easy to verify. If they are not true, the defence minister would appear again in public.

Earlier, the South Korean agency said that senior officials were being executed at the rate of one a week. It all adds up to a picture of a leader in Pyongyang who feels very insecure and who is dangerous in his insecurity.

LINK

No, it all adds up to more bias in reporting by western media.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_in_reporting_on_North_Korea_by_Western_news_media

[steelepulse]

I read that the disrespect was that he took a nap during a meeting.

[MaxYakov]

If this is true he was probably in an airplane at the time trying to flee North Korea.

[webfact]

N Korean Defense Chief Executed After Falling Asleep During Military Event
North Korea has executed its Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol for falling asleep during military event attended by country's leader Kim Jong Un, Yonhap reported Wednesday, citing South Korea's National Intelligence Agency.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korean National Intelligence Agency representative said at a briefing in Seoul, that Hyon was executed on April 30 in front of hundreds of North Korean officials. Hyon was accused of disloyalty to the country's leader after he had fallen asleep during a military event attended by Kim Jong Un, Yonhap said.

"Hyon Yong-chol, the chief of North Korea's People's Armed Forces, was executed by firing squad using an anti-aircraft gun," the news agency reported.

Full story: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150513/1022073443.html

-- Sputnik 2015-05-13

[ABCer]

I think its safe to say that the Beloved Leader is soon coming to some harm.

The self-preservation instincts in his elite surrounding colleagues must be getting a kick start.

[z42]

There are more than 3 million phones in north korea now. Many have been altered to allow international calls. Information is getting in slowly and surely whixh leaves jong un's only recourse to be a public reign of terror to try and stifle an uprising in future.

The regime's days are numbered but a revolution would be mercilessly opposed. I feel dreadfully sorry for n koreans necause now its getting even more difficult to leave & china is still tracking down escapees as criminals

[otherstuff1957]

I would take this, or any other news about North Korea, with a grain of salt. Remember the report about the singer who was executed? She turned up alive and well (though quite a bit thinner) a few months later.

[zydeco]

Caligula lives.

[sanuk711]

"So, how's life in North Korea?"

"Well, I can't complain."..............................

[Local Drunk]

"So, how's life in North Korea?"

"Well, I can't complain."..............................

I can see by your emoticon that you're having an extra cup of coffee just to be on the safe side.

Wouldn't want the headlines to read, "sanuk711 executed by ballistic missile for falling asleep while reading an article about Kim Yong Un"

[tifino]

you could say he copped some Flak...

[slipperylobster]

Lucky he did not "flip the bird" at the meeting...it could of been worse. I think, if I were attending that meeting, and I fell asleep...I would just jump up on the table, when they woke me up, and pulled my pants down for a good mooning. Then flip them all the bird, before running out of the room as fast as I could.

[h90]

Well the value of "South Korea's intelligence agency" propaganda is not much better than the North Korean propaganda.....

[Steely Dan]

I think its safe to say that the Beloved Leader is soon coming to some harm.

The self-preservation instincts in his elite surrounding colleagues must be getting a kick start.

One would hope so, but as with Saddam Hussein terror is being used as a deliberate tactic precisely to avoid any uprising. Not a comforting thought to have a paranoid madman in control of a nuclear arsenal.

[WitawatWatawit]

Did his family have to pay for the shell?

[Humphrey Bear]

Back to the good old days of the British Raj, then.

I seem to recall the punishment of the mutineers of the Indian Mutiny was to be tied over the mouth of a cannon, which was then fired. Personally I think it's cheaper to use a pistol.

[Humphrey Bear]

Oh, and here's a more contemporary version -

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=76a_1421616389

[Publicus]

It might be that in some places it still might be better to be feared than loved.

Still it is Korea where in 1979 the South Korean dictator Park Chung-Hee was assassinated in the presidential house by the director of the South Korean CIA.

North Korea has executed 15 high-ranking government officials this year, as its leader, Kim Jong-un, continues to struggle to establish his monolithic authority more than three years after assuming power, the South Korean intelligence agency told lawmakers on Wednesday.

His tactics of inspiring fear of purges and stoking competition for his favor, South Korean officials said, have fostered strong resentment among North Korea’s elite.

The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, this month at the Kumsusan Palace in Pyongyang. Mr. Kim has spent his early years in power struggling to solidify his authority. CreditKns/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/world/asia/north-korea-executed-15-top-officials-in-2015-south-korean-agency-says.html?_r=0

[ezzra]

I'd be inclined to look on the bright side, at list they didn't kill him with howitzers cannons or torpedo

or nuclear bomb, anything is possible in N. Korea,

as for now, my day time is ruined now, every time I'd think about an shuteye, his execution will conger

up in my minds........

[emilymat]

What I can't understand is how it works. He has to have co-operation from all sorts of military people to carry out such acts. Yet, they must know they could be next. Logic tells me at some time his luck will run out.

[Credo]

I think that saying no would put you on the now list. I think I'd rather be on the next list.

[Linky]

It wasnt just for falling asleep. Thats a misleading headline. It was for continued insubordination. But falling asleep could fall under that umbrella

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Makes me want to go out and watch "The Interview" again...

[bangon04]

What I can't understand is how it works. He has to have co-operation from all sorts of military people to carry out such acts. Yet, they must know they could be next. Logic tells me at some time his luck will run out.

Fear trumps logic sometimes..... or could it be self-interest?

Think back to Germany, where a very large, well-established powerful, influential, rich and educated aristocracy allowed Hitler to reign for 12 years with just a token resistance while he ran the country into the ground. The Germany officer class had a lot more power then than the DPRK generals now.

[tifino]

the Middle Ages throughout Europe, and today in: NthKorea, Thailand and others in the near region etc

...

were/are Feudal societies, and eliminating those above you/or trying to become above you - get eliminated pretty swiftly (or not pretty)

To lose someone possibly more useful to society than the current incumbent?, to maintain the cretin(s) in power, is an unfortunate tragedy ( or - trajectory, as when applied to AA fire)

[elgordo38]

I think its safe to say that the Beloved Leader is soon coming to some harm.

The self-preservation instincts in his elite surrounding colleagues must be getting a kick start.

One would hope so, but as with Saddam Hussein terror is being used as a deliberate tactic precisely to avoid any uprising. Not a comforting thought to have a paranoid madman in control of a nuclear arsenal.

What scares me is that the US is cutting back drastically on military spending at a time like this. They will barely have enough to fight 1 war at a time and this guy has cannon fodder in the millions.