North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un

NORTH KOREA: JANG SONG THAEK DISMISSED, CONFIDANTS EXECUTED

December 3, 2013: Jang Song Taek, an influential advisor to the Kim family and the uncle of Kim Jong Un, has ‘likely’ been removed from power, South Korean lawmaker Jung Cheong-ra told media on Tuesday.
The lawmaker, citing information made available during a meeting with South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), said that ”multiple reliable sources” had indicated Jang to have been removed from power and two of his closest confidants, now named as Ri Ryong Ha and Jang Su Gil, had been executed in public in late November for corruption and activities that countered the goals of the Korean Worker’s Party.
If true, Jang’s sacking as vice chairman of North Korea’s National Defence Commission and as a department head of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party would be a bold but potentially problematic move for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Little is know about the Jang’s two confidents – both were Deputy Directors of unknown WPK departments, and had not attended any public events since late last year.
“If Kim Jong Un is getting rid of Jang he must feel highly confident about authority and this could prove pretty damaging in the long run,” North Korea leadership expert Michael Madden told NK News by telephone from The Hague.
“Kim doesn’t have anyone else in his social circle that has the institutional memory of Jang for managing North Korea,” Madden added, underscoring that “having Jang at the head of North Korea as a top aide is a critical thing.”
Kim Jong-un took over after Kim Jong-il died in 2011. (Sources: nknews.org, bbc, 03/12/2013)