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“The purge of Pyon sends a message that helps to discipline the military,” said Kim Yong Hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. “The execution is a symbol that will help tighten loyalty.”

Pyon was promoted to a four-star general in March last year and then removed from office in November, according to the North Korea Leadership Watch blog. South Korea’s Unification Ministry’s website still identifies him as a general who oversees military operations.

Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo Jong may be married and even pregnant, the official said, saying she has a ring on her finger and has recently been seen wearing comfortable shoes in public.

Yonhap News said on Jan. 2 that she married one of party secretary Choe Ryong Hae’s sons, citing two unidentified people in China. The official said it’s unlikely she wed Choe’s son because that would concentrate too much power in Choe.

Earlier Wednesday, North Korea said it wouldn’t agree to talks with the U.S. and is now focused on its ability to destroy the country with conventional, nuclear and cyber-warfare attacks.

Kim’s regime accused the U.S. of “inching closer to the stage of igniting a war of aggression” by stepping up its sanctions, holding military drills with South Korea and predicting the future collapse of the administration, the official Korean Central News Agency said, citing a statement from the National Defense Commission.