Kim Jong-un’s uncle was killed after being stripped naked and fed to a pack of hungry dogs, according to reports in a Chinese state-backed newspaper.

North Korea has already described Jang Song Thaek as “despicable human scum, worse than a dog,” but the report, which appears in Hong Kong’s Wen Wei Po newspaper, suggests he may have met his end in the jaws of dogs.

The account - which cannot be verified - describes how Jang Song Thaek and five of his aides were stripped naked and fed to 120 hungry hounds, who had been starved for three days. The whole process lasted is reported to have lasted an hour, and as they were eaten, hundreds of officials watched.

The Singaporean Straits Times claims that the brutal account listed alongside a number of other criticisms in the report shows how Beijing is displeased with the changing regime, but currently there is no consistent editorial line in Chinese state media. The method of execution by dogs has also not been confirmed by North Korea.

Aidan Foster-Carter, a senior research fellow in Sociology and Modern Korea at Leeds University, told The Independent: “I put no cruelty past the North Korean regime, but it does sound extreme even for them. In the recent past, they did have an effigy of the South Korean president mauled by dogs.

In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives†field guidance to the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour korea-9.jpg Kim Jong un laughs as he inspects the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stands in the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit Reuters Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives in the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit Reuters Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inside the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit Reuters Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the bier of Kim Kuk Thae, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and expressed deep condolences over his death in Pyongyang Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the Masik Pass Hotel, ski service and lodging buildings and rest areas in the skiing courses of the Masik Pass Ski Resort in Kangwon province Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walks through the Masik Pass Hotel, ski service and lodging buildings and rest areas in the skiing courses of the Masik Pass Ski Resort in Kangwon province Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inside a room in the Masik Pass Hotel, ski service and lodging buildings and rest areas in the skiing courses of the Masik Pass Ski Resort in Kangwon province Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Koreans gather together on the steps of Mansu Hill to lay flowers at the base of statues of the late leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang AP AP In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean soldiers gathered at Kumsusan memorial palace in support of their leader Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean People's Army soldiers take part in a rally to swear allegiance to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of the second death anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang Reuters Reuters In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korean soldiers gathered at Kumsusan memorial palace in support of their leader Kim Jong-Un in Pyongyang Getty Images Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour North Korea soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Yalu River which separates the North Korean town of Sinuiju from the Chinese border town of Dandong Getty Images In pictures: Kim Jong Un goes on a Christmas tour China has lost its key North Korean interlocutor with the purging of Kim Jong Un's uncle, but analysts say the young leader's tightening grip on power may be welcomed by Beijing, which prizes stability in its wayward nuclear-armed ally Getty Images Getty Images

“However the killing of Jang Song Thaek has been an episode of state terrorism and the fact they did purge him and it was done so publicly shows that the military and Kim Jong-un is trying to warn people not to revolt and how savage punishments can been.

“Although China clearly allows its media and social media to be ruder than in the past this doesn’t mean they are going to stop supporting North Korea.”

Kim Jong-un described the execution of his 67-year-old uncle as the removal of “factionalist filth”, in his New Year message, adding that his purge left North Korea in a much stronger position.