GETTY Kim Jong-un has executed two top officials

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The public killings were carried out as a show of force by the young leader, who took the reins from his father Kim Jong Il in 2011. They are the latest in a string of slaughters carried out at the bequest of the 32-year-old tyrant and the victims are said to be agriculture minister Hwang Min and Ri Yong Jin, a senior official at the education ministry.

It was reported by South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo daily newspaper. The information could not be independently verified and South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles North Korea-related matters, did not comment.

The reported public executions come in the wake of Pyongyang's deputy ambassador in London defecting to the South with his family, dealing an embarrassing blow to Kim's regime. North Korea rarely announces purges or executions, although state media confirmed execution of Kim's uncle and the man widely considered the second most powerful man in the country, Jang Song Thaek, in 2012 for factionalism and crimes damaging to the economy.

GETTY The disturbed leader is coming to terms with another top official defecting

A former defence minister, Hyun Yong Chol, is also believed to have been executed last year for treason, according to the South's spy agency. The pair were executed by anti-aircraft gun at a military academy in Pyongyang.

Kim Jong-un in pictures Sun, January 7, 2018 Kim Jong-Un, The Supreme Leader of North Korea takes himself and his leadership very seriously. Play slideshow PBS / Frontline 1 of 77