AFP
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song Thaek was stripped naked and thrown into a cage to be executed by dogs. Unlike previous executions of political prisoners, which were carried out by firing squads with machine guns, Jang was thrown into a cage, along with his five closest aides.
According to the Straits Times, Jang and his supporters were starved for three days, and then dogs were allowed to prey on them until they were completely eaten up. This is called 'quan jue', or execution by dogs. The report said the entire process lasted for an hour, with Kim Jong Un supervising it along with 300 senior officials, the report added.
Kim Jong-un was 'very drunk' when he ordered the execution. According to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, the execution was carried out after Jang’s aides questioned an order from the dictator to hand over control of a business to the military. Sources told the newspaper Kim was 'upset' when they said they needed to check with 'Director Jang' first.
Kim's uncle was head of the ruling Workers' Party administrative department. His close aides, first deputy director Ri Ryong-ha and another deputy Jang Su-gil, were among the first prominent figures to be executed in late November. According the Yomiuri's source, Kim was 'very drunk' when he ordered they be killed.
Kim's uncle was head of the ruling Workers' Party administrative department. His close aides, first deputy director Ri Ryong-ha and another deputy Jang Su-gil, were among the first prominent figures to be executed in late November. According the Yomiuri's source, Kim was 'very drunk' when he ordered they be killed.
After the execution, North's official KCNA news agency said: "The accused Jang brought together undesirable forces and formed a faction as the boss of a modern day factional group for a long time and thus committed such hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state."
Jang was stripped of all posts and was expelled from the ruling Workers' Party, accusing him of criminal acts including mismanagement of the state financial system, womanising and alcohol abuse.
"From long ago, Jang had a dirty political ambition. He dared not raise his head when Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were alive," KCNA said, referring to leader Kim's grandfather and father, who were previous rulers of the dynastic state.
"He began revealing his true colors, thinking that it was just the time for him to realize his wild ambition in the period of historic turn when the generation of the revolution was replaced," it added.
The execution caps a spectacular downfall of the husband of leader Kim's aunt. Jang had previously suffered purges but fought his way back to the power circle to hold influential positions in the ruling party and the military.
