14 DAY TRIAL // Kim Jong-un, the controversial supreme leader of North Korea, makes headlines again this week after ordering the execution of the country's security minister by flame-thrower.
Deputy Public Security Minister O Sang-hon was reportedly dubbed an “enemy of the state” by Jong-un and was killed in this brutal manner due to his links to Jang Song-thaek, the ruler's own uncle, who was himself executed in December 2013 by firing squad after being found guilty of corruption and activities that contravened the policies of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
O Sang-hon is believed to be the latest of up to 11 senior party officials who were executed or sent to political prison camps this year because of their close ties to Kim's uncle. According to some reports, the communist leader plans to execute or send to prison many more of Mr. Jang's supporters and family members.
The ministry of public security has been shut down by the country's ruler following Jang Song-thaek's death, and its senior members have been either killed or imprisoned in concentration camps. Soon after Mr. Jang's conviction, his closest relatives and colleagues have also been executed for their links to the Public Security Minister.
The Mirror informs us that O Sang-hon was likely executed because he tried to turn the state department to which he had been appointed into a personal security division and hide corruption.
The reports on the official's violent death have not been formally confirmed yet, but it would not be the first time Kim Jong-un had ordered unorthodox execution methods.
Kim Chol, a vice minister of the army, for instance, was purged and executed in a spectacular manner for allegedly drinking and enjoying himself during the official period of mourning for Kim Jong-il's death in December 2011. He was reportedly forced to stand on a spot and exploded by mortar bombardment.
Moreover, some reports claim Jang Song-thaek's body was fed to starving dogs, although analysts say that he was in fact executed by firing squad. And last August, the news broke that the North Korean leader's former girlfriend was among a number of performers who were executed by firing squad for violating the country's laws on pornography.
This series of assassinations in North Korea are causing concerns in South Korea and instability between the two states, especially after the recent acts of belligerence by the North.