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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a drill by the armoured infantry in a photo supplied by the state-run news agency. Photo: Korean Central News Agency
Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un executed an army general last month in his latest purge of senior officials.
General Pyon In Son, one-time head of operations in the Korean People's Army, was killed for expressing an opinion that differed to that of to MrKim's, a South Korean official told reporters in Seoul on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The official didn't say what they disagreed on.
Mr Kim still mistrusts the military, the official said, adding that senior officers are growing increasingly uneasy. The "Supreme Leader" also removed Ma Won Chun, a National Defence Commission official overseeing construction design, from office in November for alleged corruption and a failure to follow orders.
Mr Kim has relied on purges to consolidate his grip on power since he took over North Korea, a country with a nuclear arms program and 1.2 million troops in 2011. After killing his uncle and one-time deputy Jang Song-thaek in 2013, he executed about 50 officials last year on charges ranging from graft to watching South Korean soap operas.
"The purge of Pyon sends a message that helps to discipline the military," said Kim Yong Hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. "The execution is a symbol that will help tighten loyalty."
Mr Pyon was promoted to a four-star general in March last year and then removed from office in November, according to the North Korea Leadership Watch blog. South Korea's Unification Ministry's website still identifies him as a general who oversees military operations.
Mr Kim's younger sister Kim Yo-jong may be married and even pregnant, the official said, saying she has a ring on her finger and has recently been seen wearing comfortable shoes in public.
Yonhap News said on January 2 that she married one of party secretary Choe Ryong-hae's sons, citing two unidentified people in China. But the official said it's unlikely she wed Mr Choe's son because that would concentrate too much power in Mr Choe.
Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea said it wouldn't agree to talks with the United States and is now focused on its ability to destroy the country with conventional, nuclear and cyber-warfare attacks.
Mr Kim's regime accused the US of "inching closer to the stage of igniting a war of aggression" by stepping up its sanctions, holding military drills with South Korea and predicting the future collapse of the administration, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing a statement from the National Defence Commission.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) watches the test-firing of a new anti-ship rocket, at an undisclosed location, in this photo released on Friday. Photo: EPA
North Korea has test-fired a new “ultra-precision” intelligent rocket to be deployed across its navy, state media said today, in the latest evidence that Pyongyang is stepping up its development of missile technology.
The exercise was carried out by the North’s East Sea fleet under the watchful eye of leader Kim Jong-un, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“The ultra-precision anti-ship rocket blasted off from a rocket boat. The intelligent rocket precisely sought, tracked and hit the ‘enemy’ ship after taking a safe flight,” KCNA said, without giving a location or date.
The new anti-ship rocket would be deployed across North Korea’s navy “before long”, it added.
Satisfied with the “perfect” development of the new rocket, Kim called for the production of “more tactical guided weapons of high precision and intelligence”.
The nuclear-armed communist country has pushed for the development of new ballistic missiles and rockets, despite heavy sanctions imposed by the international community.
Pyongyang’s rhetoric has become increasingly bellicose since the UN passed a resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights record and calling for its leaders to be investigated for crimes against humanity, and Washington blamed it for a cyber attack on a US film company.
South Korea and American experts believe the North could be on the way to developing missiles that could threaten the US mainland, although opinion is split on how much progress it has made.
In 2012, Pyongyang demonstrated its rocket capabilities by sending a satellite into orbit, but it has yet to conduct a test that proves it has mastered the technology required for an effective inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).
South Korea’s defence ministry in January said the North had already made “significant” steps in developing technology that would allow it to equip such a missile with a bomb.
The same month, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University released satellite images that offered fresh evidence North Korea is developing a marine-based missile system that would allow it to strike back if hit by a nuclear attack.
Commercial satellite pictures suggested a new North Korean submarine - first seen in July last year - housed one or two vertical launch tubes used to fire either ballistic or cruise missiles, the think tank said.
Development of a submarine-launched missile capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula.
