ANALYSIS/OPINION:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un executed five security officials by anti-aircraft gun recently due to “false statements” which were given to the North’s leader and caused him to be enraged. The event was disclosed by the South Korean spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, and discussed in a private meeting with South Korean lawmakers, reported the Associated Press.

The more likely explanation of the executions is that the North Korean dictator is feeling insecure in his position, hence the shootings and the execution of his half-brother by VX nerve gas in Kuala Lumpur. The security officials were members of recently purged state security chief Kim Won Hong. He was fired due to reports of corruption and torture in his agency.

The Seoul government has called recent events, a ‘reign of terror.’ The take-away from these incidents is that obviously the hermit leader of the Stalinist regime has no problem using weapons of mass destruction against its perceived enemies. Kim Jong-un may think he has nothing to lose as his ally China recently cut half of its coal imports from People’s Republic of China. This makes his quest to obtain ballistic missiles which can hit U.S. territory all the more threatening and worrisome.

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