What Is Happening In North Korea?

North Korean Blood Feud is ‘Richard III’ with Nukes -- Gordon G. Chang, Daily Beast

The executions and blood-letting in Pyongyang are only going to get worse as a dynastic purge threatens to destabilize the entire region.

The North Korean state media has reported that Jang Song Thaek, once thought to be the No. 2 leader of the country, was executed. A special military tribunal had found him guilty of treasonous activities and other crimes. Never before has Pyongyang announced the execution of a member of the ruling Kim family. Jang, 67, was married to the aunt of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

Why did Kim have Jang killed? It may have been personal. Jang introduced Kim to his eventual wife, Ri Sol Ju. According to a growing number of accounts, Jang also had an affair with her. Furthermore, there are reports that Jang and Ri were somehow involved in a sex tape. In any event, she has not been seen in public since October. Kim Kyong Hui, Kim’s aunt, supposedly approved the execution of her husband. Most of this narrative remains unconfirmed, but this storyline makes understandable Kim’s surprise—and unprecedented—decision to put to death a family member. Moreover, this narrative explains the charge against Jang of “womanizing.”

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My Comment: To have someone like Jang Song Thaek executed so quickly tells me that he must have violated the trust and loyalty that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave to him when his father passed away. My guess is that he was establishing a power base that was becoming a threat to Kim Jong Un .... maybe even preparing a coup .... and as a result the North Korean leader acted quickly.

Update: Food for thought .... The scariest thing about North Korea's murderous boy tyrant? He's totally sane -- Daily Mail