If you just saw the headline and clicked in, youโre not surprised at all, arenโt you?
Kim Jong Un even executed his own uncle once and was even highly suspected of assassinating his brother, all for political reasons of his own. I guess he sees it in a way that if itโs for the country, not even your own family members can be spared.
This time around, it was his officials who had to take the fall.
Failed Summit
In February, the second Trump-Kim summit took place in Hanoi, Vietnam, where the US wanted the Korean peninsula to be completely denuclearised and North Korea demanded the lift of sanctions led by the US.
Originally, they were supposed to sign a deal where North Korea was to willing to give up nuclear power plant that was at the very centre of their weapons programme, but Kim Jong Un wanted a complete lift of the sanctions against them.
Things didnโt go so well, however, and the summit ended with the two leaders being unable to compromise, so there was no deal.
It was basically a very important discussion for the fate of both countries amongst strained political relations.
But instead of thinking about what went wrong with the requests from both countries, Kim Jong Un decided that placing the blame on his officials was better.
Execution Order
Kim Hyok Chol, North Koreaโs special envoy to the United States and Mr Kim Jong Unโs right-hand man as well as the counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before the Hanoi summit, had been executed, as reported by a South Korean newspaper.
โHe was accused of spying for the United States for poorly reporting on the negotiations without properly grasping US intentions,โ allegedly said the source.
Apparently, Kim Hyok Chol had been sent to a labour and re-education camp near the Chinese border after the summit as well. He was also reportedly removed from a key party post back in April, which the Seoul Unification Ministry didnโt wish to comment on.
Officials who worked with him suddenly disappeared from public sight as well, and older diplomats who were previously out of the limelight were seen again.
No Surprise
Kim Hyuk Cholโs execution did not come as much of a shock to many, for he was a key figure who reported directly to Kim Jong Un.
โHis task was to convey US views accurately to Kim, but Iโm not sure if he was capable of grasping their intentions or negotiating strategy,โ said Mr Hong Min, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
He was expected to do great things for just weeks before the Hanoi summit, he was appointed to lead working-level talks with Stephen Biegun, the US nuclear envoy.
How unexpected fate is, sometimes.
Thereโs Four More
If executing Kim Hyuk Chol wasnโt enough, four other ministry foreign executives were also executed along with him at the Mirim Airport in Pyongyang.
They faced charges of spying for the US, Chosun Ilbo reported.
Among the four, some were diplomats working on Vietnam relations. Two of them, Kim Song Hye and Shin Hye Yong, were actually detained in a prison for political offenders.
Kim Song Hye had worked closely with Kim Jong Unโs very own sister Kim Yo Jong, who is said to be lying low under Kim Jong Unโs orders after the Hanoi summit.
Shin Hye Yong, on the other hand, was charged for making critical interpretation mistakes at the Hanoi summit, one of it being that sheโd apparently missed out on a last-minute offer that Kim Jong Un made just as Trump was about to walk out of the room.
It wasnโt specified what the offer was so thereโs no telling if it could have changed the result of the summit.
Labelled As Traitors
While I donโt know what proof Kim Jong Un had of these people being spies for the US and were traitors to their own government, the North Korean official political news outlet Rodong Sinmun had this to say:
โIt is an anti-Party, anti-revolutionary act to pretend to be revering the leader in front of him when you actually dream of something else. There are traitors and turncoats who only memorise words of loyalty toward the Leader and even change according to the trend of the time.โ
Oooookayโฆ
Itโs also noted that it was the first time these words hinting at purging had appeared in Rodong Sinmun since the execution of Kim Jong Unโs uncle, Jang Song Thaek, in 2013.
Itโs one scary place to live in, indeed.
Itโs unclear if Trump and Kim Jong Un will be seeing each other face-to-face anytime soon given the tragic ending of this roundโs summit, but weโll be waiting to see the drama unfold.
It doesnโt sound so bad if they come back to Singapore again, for we might just get more special discounts and promotions at restaurants.
If you watch at least 10 minutes of brain rot content daily, you must know this:
Read Also:
- 7 People, Including a Sโporean, Killed in 3-Vehicle Collision in Mโsia
- Prosperity Burgers At McDonaldโs From 26 Dec 2024, Free Cinnamoroll & My Melody Red Packets From 2 Jan 2025
- Polite & Well-Dressed Man Reportedly Asking for Money at Waterloo Street
- A Summary of Why Long Hair Was Once โBannedโ for Guys in Singapore
- SingPost Fires Its Group CEO, Group CFO & Another High-Ranking Officer
- Everything About the New Mandai Rainforest Resort, Which Will Open in April 2025
Advertisements