North Korea has executed its Chief of Staff, Ri Yong-gil, over corruption and other charges, according to South Korean news reports.
The execution was carried out last week after the powerful military figure was accused of personal gains and conspiracy, according to anonymous sources cited by South Korean agency Yonhap reported on Wednesday.
The news comes at a time of high tension for the Kim Jong-un regime, after it conducted a rocket launch on Sunday to put a satellite in orbit, which the international community suspects to be a front for a ballistic missile test.
Ri, appointed to the highest army post in 2013, has been replaced by former minister of people's security, Ri Myong Su, according to the news agency.
If the information is true, Yong-gil's execution would be the latest in a string of purges of high-ranked North Korean officials carried out by Kim Jong-un since assuming power in 2012.
The most significant of these purges was in December 2013 when the leader ordered the execution of his uncle and the man considered 'number two' in the North Korean regime, Jang Song-thaek, for "treason."
The sentence in that case, however, was widely disseminated by the state media.
Share
