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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is In the News. |
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This week, North Korea |
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executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un. |
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The official Korean Central News Agency said |
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Jang Song Thaek was put to death on Thursday |
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after facing a special military court. |
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It said Jang was found guilty of attempting |
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to overthrow the state, party and leadership. |
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He was also accused of womanizing and drug abuse. |
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The announcement came just days after Jang Song Thaek |
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was publicly ousted from power |
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for suspected disloyalty and corruption. |
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Korean Central Television broadcast images of his arrest |
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on Sunday at a meeting of the Korean Workers' Party. |
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On Friday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper |
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published pictures of Jang at the military trial. |
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They showed him lowering his head, |
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with guards on both sides. |
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Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean history |
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at Kookmin University in South Korea. |
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He says ousters, or purges, |
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of North Korean officials are not uncommon. |
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But he says the level of publicity in this case is unusual. |
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"In the past, hundreds or maybe even thousands |
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of high level officials have been purged. |
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Some of them executed. |
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Some of them were sent to exile or prison. |
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However, with very few exceptions in most areas, |
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purges have always been fixed. |
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Unlike say the Soviet Union under Stalin, |
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when they remove the high level official, |
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they usually did not make it public. |
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When they did, it was never on such a scale." |
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Leonid Petrov is a Korea expert |
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with the Australian National University. |
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He questions whether Jang Song Thaek |
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was actually plotting to overthrow the government. |
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"I think this has nothing to do with what really happened. |
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Jang Song Thaek was a loyal member of Kim's regime. |
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He was appointed by Kim Jong Il to supervise his son. |
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Jang Song Thaek was doing everything possible |
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to promote Kim Jong Un's image." |
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Leonid Petrov says a personal or family dispute |
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could have led to the execution. |
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But he says it is also clear |
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that Mr. Kim considered his uncle a threat. |
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And he says the North Korean leader felt the need |
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to send a message that he is in complete control. |
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"The elites are scared to death at the moment. |
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And the grassroots population of North Korea |
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also gets the message that it is Kim Jong Un |
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who is in the driving seat. |
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They must follow his orders, |
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and there's simply no alternative |
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or any place for dissent in North Korea." |
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Mr. Jang was quietly ousted from power not once, |
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but two times under the former North Korean leader. |
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But he regained power with the help of his wife Kim Kyong Hui, |
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the sister of the former leader. |
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Much of North Korea's central leadership |
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is from the rule of Kim Jong Il. |
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Many officials are in their 60s or 70s. |
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This has led some observers to debate the level |
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of their support for 30-year-old Kim Jong Un. |
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Mr. Kim took power two years ago. |
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Since then, |
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he has replaced more than 40 percent of high level officials, |
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and built his rule with a younger generation loyal to him. |
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There were no signs of unrest in North Korea following the execution. |
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But the South Korean Defense Ministry said |
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it was closely watching the North Korean military |
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for aggressive movements. |
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On Friday, the office of South Korea's president |
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held a national security meeting |
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to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula. |
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A Unification Ministry official said |
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South Korea is watching the events with concern. |
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And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Steve Ember. |
