Seoul: Pyongyang executing dozens
July 9, 2015
The number of executions carried out by Kim Jong Un during his reign was several times more than when his father Kim Jong Il was in power, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said at a forum in Seoul. Kim senior executed only 10 people in his initial years as the country's leader, according to the minister.
Yun said that the latest statistics on executions in the north inspired Pyongyang citizens living in foreign countries to defect to the south, the Associated Press reported.
Kim Jong Un has removed key members of the old guard through a series of purges, one of the most spectacular being that of his uncle Jang Song Thaek in 2013 for alleged treason. Jang was married to the leader's aunt and was believed to be one of the most powerful men before Kim Jong Un took over his father's position.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported in May this year that Kim ordered his defense chief Hyon Yong Chol at the time to execute Jang with an anti-aircraft gun.
Pyongyang hits back
"The false propaganda…is a foolish and base politically-motivated conspiratorial farce," North Korea's state-run news agency KCNA announced on Thursday. South Korea's accusations aimed at giving an impression of "uneasiness and horror" in the north, the statement said.
KCNA also dismissed reports of top general Pak Sun-Won defecting to Seoul via Moscow, calling them "sheer nonsense." There was also unconfirmed news regarding the execution of two North Korean students for watching pornography and the defection of three officials from Office 39 - a secretive office that acquires hard currency for the regime.
The latest data on North Korea's activities, gathered by Seoul's spy agency NIS, is nearly impossible to confirm due to the secret inner workings of the Kim family in Pyongyang.
Drought affecting children in the north
Experts in South Korea say Kim is using fear to solidify his leadership, but his attempts are likely to fail unless he addresses ways to improve his country's isolated economy. Recent reports by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) state that children in North Korea are weakened by severe malnutrition.
Severe drought has worsened their condition and many are on the brink of death. UN officials have met with local authorities, who confirmed increasing cases of diarrhea among children.
"The situation is urgent, but if we act now, by providing urgently needed expertise and prepositioning supplies, we can save lives," UNICEF East Asia Regional Director Daniel Toole said in a statement.
UNICEF has released its reserves for the country, but a lack of funding and focus on children's needs has compromised the effectiveness of the response.
mg/ls (AFP, AP)