North Korea Leader Executes His Defence Minister By Anti-aircraft Fire - For Dozing Off

North Korea's defence minister has been publicly executed with an
anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep during military meetings and
answering back to leader Kim Jong-Un, it has been claimed.

Hyon Yong-Chol, 66, who was named head of North Korea's military in
2012, was killed in the capital Pyongyang by the unconventional firing
squad on charges of disloyalty and disrespect.

Han Ki-Beom, the deputy director of South Korea's National
Intelligence Agency (NIS), told a parliamentary committee that
hundreds of officials watched the execution in Pyongyang on April 30.

It is not the first time anti-aircraft guns have been used for public
executions in North Korea, with recently released satellite images
showing a number of unidentified people being killed using the brutal
method last October.

The intelligence service told politicians that Hyon was killed by an
anti-aircraft gun at Kang Kon Military Academy - a method cited in
various unconfirmed reports as being reserved for senior officials who
the leadership wishes to make examples of.

Hyon was apparently caught dozing off during formal military events
and also talked back to Kim Jong-Un on several occasions.

Lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min, who attended the parliamentary briefing
during which news of the execution was announced, said the NIS
believed it to be true.
The execution was initially reported by South Korea's Yonhap news
agency, although reports from North Korea are impossible to
independently confirm.

Hyon is believed to have been a general since 2010 and served on the
committee for late leader Kim Jong-il's funeral in December 2011,
before becoming defence minister.

In North Korea, the defence minister is mainly in charge of logistics
and international exchanges.

Policy-making is handled by the powerful National Defence Commission
and the party Central Military Commission.

Since taking power upon the death of his dictator father in late 2011,
Kim Jong Un has orchestrated a series of purges in apparent efforts to
bolster his grip on power.

Analysts are split on whether the bloody power shifts indicate a young
leader in firm control, or someone still struggling to establish
himself. The most notable purge was in 2013 when he executed his uncle
and chief deputy, Jang Song Thaek, for alleged treason.

Last month, spy officials told lawmakers that North Korea executed 15
senior officials accused of challenging his authority.

--dailymail.co.uk