Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha

Pyongyang: In a brutal purge to obliterate any trace of his uncle Jang Song-thaek, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of all the blood relatives of the traitor uncle, said reports.

The North Korean regime carried out "extensive executions" of Jang Song-thaek`s entire family, not sparing even children.

`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 Daily Mail quoted South Korea`s Yonhap agency.

The mass execution was ordered by the leader to ensure that "no traces" of the `traitor` uncle were left, Yonhap agency quoted a source as saying.

Those executed in cold blood include Jang`s sister Jang Kye-sun, her husband Jon Yong-jin (who was also North Korea`s ambassador to Cuba), and Jang Yong-chol, a nephew of Jang, the North Korean ambassador to Malaysia, as well as his two sons.

Only few marriage relatives, like the wife of Malaysian ambassador, were let free and sent to live in remote villages.

The sons, daughters and the grandchildren of Jang`s two brothers, too, were not spared, reports the Daily Mail, citing Yonhap news agency.

The report further states that the family members were first brought to the Pyongyang area of the country by Ministry of State troops and then executed.

The timing of their execution is not yet clear but sources told Yonhap that they might have been killed in December after Jang Song-thaek was killed.

Jang Song-thaek, the husband of Kim Jong Un`s father`s sister, was arrested and put to death on Dec 12 last year on charges of plotting a coup, being a womaniser, misappropriation of funds and abuse of position.

Unconfirmed rumours have it that Kim`s uncle was stripped naked and fed to 120 dogs. The horrifying account of his execution was reported by Singapore`s Strait Times, which cited a December 12 story in a Chinese government-controlled newspaper.