A North Korean army minister was reportedly executed with a mortar round for allegedly drinking and carousing during the official mourning period following leader Kim Jong-il's death.

Kim Chol, vice minister of the army, was reportedly taken into custody on the orders of Kim Jong-un, who assumed leadership after his father's death, The Telegraph reported.

Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered to leave "no trace of him behind, down to his hair," according to South Korean media.

"When Kim Jong-un became North Korean leader following the mourning period for his father in late December, high-ranking military officers started disappearing," a source told South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "From information compiled over the last month, we have concluded that dozens of military officers were purged."

Chol is the fourteenth senior official to have been executed, according to a member of the South Korean Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee.

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