Executing His Responsibilities
"North Korean internal politics is very volatile these days. Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong-un within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership."
"There is no clear or present danger to Kim Jong-un’s leadership or stability in North Korea, but if this continues to happen into next year, then we would seriously have to start looking at a contingency plan for the Korean peninsula."
Michael Madden, contributor to 38 North think tank
"The common assumption is that it’s bad for stability, but I’m not so sure. The young boy is not necessarily popular with the military, so he wants to show that he’s in control and he’s the boss."
Andrei Lankov, North Korea specialist, Kookmin University, Seoul
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| Kim Jong-un waves at cheering combat aircraft pilots of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on the snow-covered Mount Paektu. State-run news service KCNA reported that Mr Kim scaled Mt Paektu on Saturday morning, accompanied by hundreds of fighter pilots and party officials.Picture: KCNA |
And the most effective way to achieve that is not necessarily demonstrating capability and capacity, if you're Ki Jong-un, but by inspiring terror in the minds of those who might be foolish enough to resort to questioning North Korea's incomparable Kim Jong-un's leadership abilities. This is a man, after all, who didn't mind executing the man who married his father's sister, and who had mentored him after his father's death, to guide him to the leadership of the country.
Accusing his uncle and chief deputy, Jang Song Thaek of treason, he proved his invincible fortitude in exacting the penalty of death, leaving his auntie a window. So far this year Kim has ordered that fifteen senior officials be executed which brings the total since he became leader to 70 executions of North Korean officials. General Pyon In-son, head of army operations was executed for disagreeing with Kim. Last year some 50 officials were executed on charges of corruption.
How corruption is construed in North Korea is a strange matter; viewing South Korean soap operas qualifies evidently. So perhaps it isn't all that surprising that Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his defence chief -- to teach him a lesson in humility, one assumes. For ignoring orders once too often; for questioning the divinely-ordained authority of North Korea's dearest little leader, for another.
Execution in full view of hundreds of North Koreans in a military venue by an anti-aircraft gun, no less. So much for complaining about Kim, for being rude enough to talk back, and being bored enough during a meeting over which Kim presided to fall asleep. One expert characterized all these purges-by-execution as a none-too-subtle "reign of terror" that would dampen the ardour of any critics, and in the process solidify Kim's leadership.
South Korean National Intelligence Service officials informed a parliamentary committee meeting that Hyon Yong Chol was killed at a shooting range at Pyongyang's Kang Kon Military Academy in late April before hundreds of spectators. He had failed the compliance test; having been given instructions he had demonstrated the unmitigated gall to ignore them.
Standard procedure in North Korea removes executed and purged officials from all news sources, but this hasn't appeared to have occurred in the Hyon case. Leaving speculation that this latest execution may be simply a rumour whose time has not yet come.
Labels: North Korea, Terrorism, Tyranny
posted by Pieface @ Friday, May 15, 2015
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