Many media outlets, such as CNN, reported the execution of North Korea’s defense minister, Hyon Yong Chol, by anti-aircraft gun. But just how of this story is true? Vox Media‘s Max Fisher reports,
North Korea has reportedly executed a top official, Defense Minister Hyon Yong Chol, in a most North Korean manner: by shooting him to pieces with an anti-aircraft gun in front of a crowd of hundreds of other officials.
That’s according to South Korea’s intelligence service (NIS), which has a history of exaggerating reports about North Korea that make the country look bad. Indeed, while South Korean lawmakers at first described the NIS as categorically stating that Hyon had definitely been executed, the NIS later told the press that they were certain Hyon had been purged, and that they believed with confidence that he had been executed, but were still working to verify the latter.
HRNK.org claims to have pictures of the firing range:
Sometime on or about October 7th, 2014, some very unusual activity was noted on satellite imagery of the Kanggon small arms firing range. Instead of troops occupying the firing positions on the range there was a battery of six ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns lined up between the firing positions and the range control/viewing gallery. The ZPU-4 is an anti-aircraft gun system consisting of four 14.5mm heavy machine guns (similar to a U.S. .50 caliber heavy machine gun) mounted on a towed wheeled chassis. It is neither safe nor practical to use such weapons on a small arms range, as the combined weight of fire from the six ZPU-4 (a total of 24 heavy machine guns) would quickly destroy the downrange backstop and necessitate reconstruction. A few meters behind the ZPU-4s there appears to be either a line of troops or equipment, while farther back are five trucks (of various sizes), one large trailer, and one bus. This suggests that senior officers or VIPs may have come to observe whatever activity was taking place. Most unusual in the image, perhaps, is what appears to be some sort of targets located only 30 meters downrange of the ZPU-4s.
You will have to follow the above link to see the pictures. Meanwhile, Marcus Noland is not so sure:
The National Intelligence Service then got into the act, claiming in testimony in front of a South Korean National Assembly committee that the North Korean defense chief, General Hyon Yong-chol, had been purged and executed for dozing off during meetings and talking back to his boss. (Man, it’s a good thing that I’m not North Korean or I would have been offed years ago.) As in the case of the alleged Kim Kyong-hui poisoning, the report immediately attracted skeptical commentary, and now the NIS is backing away from its statement: they think that Hyon was purged, but may not have been executed by firing squad, either using conventional weapons or via the currently stylish use of anti-aircraft guns. Parenthetically, in a different interview with CNN, a North Korean official admitted that the regime executed subversives, but bristled at the notion that they used anti-aircraft guns.
DailyNK reports on the spread of the news amongst the North Korean public, assuming that it happened:
News of the execution of Hyon Yong Chol, North Korea’s defense minister, is traveling swiftly throughout the country, while lectures for military cadre have been propagating Hyon’s purge on account of “insubordinance to the country’s monolithic leadership,” Daily NK has learned.
Among ordinary members of the public, Kim Jong Un’s execution of high-level officials to consolidate his power has been dubbed a practice of “cannibalistic politics.”
The veracity of DailyNK is unclear – I don’t know how they source their stories.
The BBC reported earlier this year that 15 people, including high officials, had been executed by Kim Jong-un’s order:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of 15 people this year, including several top officials, South Korean intelligence says.
The agency told a parliamentary meeting on Wednesday that they were executed by firing squad on spying charges.
Those killed include two vice ministers who challenged Mr Kim over his policies and members of an orchestra, intelligence officials said.
Given that North Korea is a nuclear power, the apparent ruthlessness of the hereditary ruler makes for uncomfortable times, although one wonders if they’d actually ever try to use one on an enemy, given that sudden extinction is a possibility – although I don’t know that an American President would order a nuclear strike on North Korea if they struck South Korea or another regional power. Of course, even if they just tried to strike the United States, the leadership would be obliterated. I see opinions offered as to whether Kim is safe in his position, but virtually everyone admits it’s really all guesswork.
North Korea’s official web page is here.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is a genuine workers’ state in which all the people are completely liberated from exploitation and oppression. The workers, peasants, soldiers and intellectuals are the true masters of their destiny and are in a unique position to defend their interests.
If you’re a techie, this site may be of interest.
(Update: added missing HRNK link 8/16/2015)
