A North Korean official has been executed with a flamethrower as part of a new round of bloody purges, according to South Korean media reports.
A source in the country reportedly told the
Chosun Ilbo newspaper that 11 high-ranking government officials were either killed or jailed on Sunday.
The purge was described as a second wave of the same movement that saw the execution of Jang Song-thaek, leader Kim Jong-un’s influential uncle, in December last year.
One of those killed at the weekend was reportedly Jang’s older sister, Kye-sun, and all were described as close supporters of the former Workers’ Party administrative chief.
The man singled out to be “burned alive” was O Sang-hon, a senior figure in the country’s public security ministry who was accused of turning his department into a “personal protection squad” for Jang.
He was “executed by flamethrower”, the source told Chosun Ilbo. Around 100 other lower-ranking party officials were also reportedly sacked.
Kim was recently re-elected to his seat in the parliament by the unanimous verdict of all eligible voters in his constituency - in a country where elections serve more as a method of checking up on the populace than of giving them any say in their governance.
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