Two Senior North Korean Officials Executed

Officials and media from South Korea report that Kim Yong-jin, Deputy Prime Minister for Education, Ri Yong-jin, a senior official in North Korea's Ministry of Education, and a former Minister of Agriculture have been executed. It is suspected that the executions of these officials are part of internal purges within the Pyongyang regime. The South Korean state news agency, Yonhap, reported on September 1 that 63-year-old Kim Yong-jin was executed last month. The widely circulated newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, published in Seoul, stated a day earlier that Ri Yong-chun was arrested for 'dozing off' during one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's speeches and was executed by anti-aircraft fire after various interrogations. The newspaper reported that the charges against the Minister of Education included various allegations of 'corruption.' It also stated that the death sentence for the former Minister of Agriculture has been issued and carried out. A government official in Seoul also told Yonhap that Kim Yong-chul, head of the 'United Front Department' (the agency responsible for inter-Korean relations), has been sent to rural areas for 're-education.' No further information about this North Korean official has been released. Since Kim Jong-un took power in North Korea five years ago, there have been various reports of the execution of senior officials and even members of the young leader's family. Analysts believe that the main reason for these purges is internal competition within the regime and Kim Jong-un's efforts to consolidate his power. Many of the purged officials were appointed to various government positions during his father's era.