Two top officials in North Korea have been publicly executed for disobeying Kim Jong Un, South Korean newspapers are reporting.Just weeks after the high-profile defection of the London Ambassador to the country, former agriculture minister Hwang Min and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry, were executed using anti-aircraft guns.
The report in the JoongAng Ilbo daily cited unidentified sources familiar with the north and the report cannot be independently verified.
One source suggested that Ri Yong Jin was executed after he ‘dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim’.
They added: ‘He was arrested on site and intensively questioned by the state security ministry. He was executed after other charges, such as corruption, were found during the probe.’
Speaking about Mr Hwang he said: ‘I understand he was executed because policy proposals he had pushed for were seen as a direct challenge to the Kim Jong-Un leadership.’
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles North Korea-related matters, did not have immediate comment.
It is believed they were executed earlier this month, and is the latest in a series of high-level purges under the young leader’s rule, if confirmed.
Kim took power in 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, and his consolidation of power has included purges and executions of top officials, South Korean officials have said.