N. Korea uses anti-aircraft gun to execute defense chief for treason: Report

North Korea has executed its defense chief on treason charges by putting him in front of an anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers. Hyon Yong Chol, 66, who headed the isolated country’s military, was purged last month for disobeying Kim Jong Un and falling asleep during a meeting at which North Korea’s young leader was present, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed in a closed-door meeting with the spy agency on Wednesday. His execution, the latest of a series of high-level purges since Kim took power in 2011, was watched by hundreds of people, they said.

Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong Un within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership.

Michael Madden, a contributor to the 38 North think tank

Hyon, last known to have spoken publicly at a security conference in Moscow in April, apparently voiced complaints against Kim Jong Un and had not followed his orders several times. North Korean authorities arrested him in April and executed him three days later without legal proceedings, the NIS said. The reported execution comes after South Korea’s spy agency said last month that Kim ordered the execution of 15 other senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority.

World north korea