By
January 26, 2014 7:15 pm - NewsBehavingBadly.com

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a New Year address in PyongyangIt’s looking more and more like the li’l-est Kim ever is trying to send a message that he’s really, really in charge. Problem is, it sends a message that the “hermit kingdom” and its leader are unstable and potentially volatile.

South Korea’s state news agency is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the execution of his uncle’s entire family, including children.

“Extensive executions have been carried out for relatives of Jang Song-thaek,” one source told Yonhap. “All relatives of Jang have been put to death, including even children.”

On Dec. 12, Kim Jong-un executed his uncle and his close allies for “acts of treachery,” which may have been related to a business dispute .

Yonhap is known for its anti-North Korean bias. And other stories about the purge are probably fake.

Nevertheless, Kim’s ruthlessness cannot be discounted.

From Yonhap:

The executed relatives include Jang’s sister Jang Kye-sun, her husband and Ambassador to Cuba Jon Yong-jin, and Ambassador to Malaysia Jang Yong-chol, who is a nephew of Jang, as well as his two sons, the sources said.

All of them were recalled to Pyongyang in early December and executed, they said. The sons, daughters and even grandchildren of Jang’s two brothers were all executed, they said.

D.B. Hirsch
D.B. Hirsch is a political activist, news junkie, and retired ad copy writer and spin doctor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.