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N. Korea confirms purging of its own defense chief: S. Korean official

July 13, 2015
This July 18, 2012, file photo shows Vice Marshal Hyon Yong-chol applauding during a meeting announcing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's new title of marshal, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea has officially confirmed the purging of its defense chief two months after Seoul's spy service said he had been executed for disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, a South Korean official said Monday, July 12, 2015. South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in May that People's Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong-chol was killed by anti-aircraft gunfire for talking back to Kim, complaining about his policies and sleeping during a meeting. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)

This July 18, 2012, file photo shows Vice Marshal Hyon Yong-chol applauding during a meeting announcing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s new title of marshal, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea has officially confirmed the purging of its defense chief two months after Seoul’s spy service said he had been executed for disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, a South Korean official said Monday, July 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin, File)

Speculation has swirled around North Korea’s execution of former defense chief Hyon Yong-chol ever since South Korean spy agency officials broke the news back in May.

The North never corroborated the information and did not publicly comment on Hyon’s alleged disappearance giving off the impression that he was still holding the position.

But the country’s main media mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced on Monday that another official named Pak Yong-sik will take on Hyon’s duties in a permanent capacity.

The official spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry  Jeong Joon-hee believes that this is enough evidence to prove that Hyon had been purged from the administration according to the Associated Press.

The details of the execution have still not been confirmed, but South Korean spy agencies believe that Hyon was killed with an anti-aircraft gun after he had openly disagreed with current leader Kim Jong-un’s policies and slept during a meeting.

The three generations of Kim leaders have each dealt with executions of high-level government officials, but recent reports suggest that Kim Jong-un has surpassed his predecessors with an approximate 70 executions since coming into power in 2011.