TOKYO: A North Korean army minister was reportedly executed with a mortar round for drinking and carousing during the official mourning period after the death of Kim Jong-il.

Kim Chol, the vice-minister of the army, was taken into custody earlier this year on the orders of Kim Jong-un, who assumed the leadership after his father died in December. On the orders of Mr Kim to leave "no trace of him behind, down to his hair", Kim Chol was forced to stand on a spot that had been zeroed in for a mortar round and was "obliterated", South Korean media reported.

Dangerous times ... military leaders have reportedly been removed on the pretext of dishonouring the late Kim Jong-Il, right.

The execution is just one example of a purge of members of the North Korean military or party who threatened the fledgling regime of Mr Kim.