News of Jang Sung Taek’s execution has been met with mixed responses from ordinary North Koreans, one of Daily NK’s sources has revealed.

The source, located in North Korea’s Yangkang Province, told

Daily NK on the 13th that, “Word of the execution is spreading rapidly

throughout the country. Most people are openly critical of Jang, saying, ‘He

got the punishment he deserved,’ and, ‘How could he be so traitorous after

receiving the love of the General (Kim Jong Il)?’”

However, she went on, “Their eyes and way of speaking seem

to tell you that they don’t really believe what they are saying.”

On the other hand, “Older people in their 50s and 60s think ‘his wife (Kim Kyong Hui) surely would have fainted after hearing the

news [of the execution].’ Some people think they went too far with the arrest

and execution, saying that ‘no matter what he did, he was the aunt’s husband;

did they really have to arrest him in front of everyone?’”

The source reported that there is criticism too of Kim Kyong

Hui’s perceived indifference to the execution of her husband. “It came to this;

surely his aunt will not re-enter politics now.”

“She was a woman who eliminated her husband, how can she

show her face now? The authorities would not have gone as far as executing him

if she had stood her ground,” some have gone as far as to claim.

“The Jang Sung Taek incident has made people uneasy, and

since it overlaps with the mourning period for the General [Kim Jong Il died on

December 17th, 2011, so commemorative events are expected to take

place next week] we all know that we must take the utmost care over what we

say,” the source continued. “But the news about Jang Sung Taek is also so shocking that people are

talking about it.”

Finally, “The auditors have been at Hyesan Customs House since

last night, so trade has been suspended. This could be something to do with the

Jang purge, it’s unclear. An order also came down to workplaces, People’s

Units, and Women’s Union groups to get rid of the floating population, so the

trains are completely empty, too.”