Jang Song Thaek Family, Kin of Kim Jong Un Uncle, Reportedly Killed

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, and new reports now indicate that his uncle’s family — including women and children — were also killed, the Daily Mail reported.

Jang was executed for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.

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Quoting the South Korean Yonghap News Agency, the Daily Mail said it’s not certain when the family members were killed.

“Some relatives were shot to death by pistol in front of other people if they resisted while being dragged out of their apartment homes,” the Mail quoted a Yonhap source as saying.

“The executions of Jang’s relatives mean that no traces of him should be left,” one source told Yonhap. “The purge of the Jang Song Thaek people is underway on an extensive scale from relatives and low-level officials.”

The reports of the killings have not been confirmed.

Experts studying North Korea said the killings, if confirmed, would mean that Kim is more brutal even than his father and grandfather, USA Today said. Executing family members has occurred under previous dynasties, expert Hong Kwan-hee said. He told USA Today the “possibility is quite high” that the reports will be confirmed.

The Yonhap New Agency reported that relatives killed include Jang’s sister and brother-in-law, who was the country’s ambassador to Cuba, as well as all the children and grandchildren of Jang’s two elder brothers, who also were executed, USA Today said.

Apparently, a few relatives by marriage were banished instead of executed, USA Today said.

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