Kim Jong-Un has executed 340 people in five years since seizing power - with almost half being senior officials from his own government, report claims

  • The North Korean dictator has put 340 people to death since coming to power
  • The five-year execution tally was reported by a South Korean think tank
  • Up to 140 are said to have been senior government officials, report claims

By Julian Robinson for MailOnline

Published: 07:03 EST, 29 December 2016 | Updated: 10:43 EST, 29 December 2016

Kim Jong-Un has ordered 340 executions in five years since seizing power - with almost half being senior officials from his own government, a report has claimed.

The North Korean dictator has used capital punishment to consolidate his position, according to the Institute for National Security Strategy, a South Korean think tank.

Of the 340 people he has put to death since 2011, 140 of them are said to have been senior government officials, the group claimed in a report called 'The misgoverning of Kim Jong Un's five years in power'.

Kim Jong-Un (centre) has ordered 340 executions in five years since seizing power - with almost half being senior officials from his own government, a report has claimed

In October, South Korea's spy agency reported that the despot had ordered the public execution of 64 'traitors' so far in 2016. 

This sharp rise in the execution of officials is thought to have been a result of the dictator's increasing paranoia about his personal safety, the National Intelligence Service said.

It even exceeds the bloodshed of his father's early rule, they added.

Kim had shown restraint in state-sanctioned killings in recent years after reports emerged about his uncle Jang Song Thaek being executed.

In October, South Korea's spy agency reported that the despot had ordered the public execution of 64 'traitors' so far in 2016

But Kim has resumed them after the United Nations imposed more sanctions on the country following its long-range rocket launch and nuclear tests.

In April last year North Korea's defence minister was publicly executed with an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep during military meetings and answering back to Kim.

Hyon Yong-Chol, 66, who was named head of North Korea's military in 2012, was killed in front of hundreds of bloodthirsty officials at a military camp in the capital Pyongyang.

It was not the first time a ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun has been used for executions in North Korea. 

 


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