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N. Korea Vice Premier Executed

N. Korea Vice Premier Executed
N. Korea Vice Premier Executed

North Korea's Vice Premier Choe Yong-Gon has been executed for voicing frustration at the policies of leader Kim Jong-Un, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Wednesday, citing an anonymous source.

Choe, who took the job in June 2014, was executed by firing squad in May after voicing opposition to forestry policies promoted by Kim, Yonhap said, citing the source "with knowledge of the North," AFP reported.

Choe has not been mentioned in the North's state media since last October, it added, in another apparent sign he had been purged.

He was deputy minister of construction and building material industries and had represented North Korea in trade talks in Seoul in the mid-2000s.

Choe was appointed as one of seven vice-premiers in June last year and his promotion was seen by one analyst as a sign Pyongyang was keen to maintain close ties with the South.

Choe's death, if confirmed, would be the second reported this year.  Defense minister Hyon Yong-Chol was said to have been executed in April by anti-aircraft fire for insubordination and dozing off during formal military rallies.

In April, South Korea's intelligence agency said Kim Jong-un had ordered the execution of 15 officials in the first four months of the year.

 

Financialtribune.com