Kim Jong-un ‘likely to order wave of gruesome public executions’ to crush dissent after death rumours
KIM Jong-un could unleash a wave of gruesome public executions in a bid to crush dissent after rumours about his death circulated, an expert says.
The North Korean despot is also said to be poised to issue a fresh spate of nuclear threats against the West to re-establish his credibility after he was mysteriously missing for weeks.
Rumours about his death first circulated when Kim failed to appear for celebrations marking the birth of his grandfather Kim Il-sung on April 15, a key date in the country’s calendar.
No reason has been given for why he vanished, but it has been suggested he was either in hiding trying to avoid coronavirus, or had been taken ill.
The dictator, 36, was last seen in public on April 11 and rumours circulated he had died, possibly from a heart problem.
But the country’s state-controlled news agency KCNA reported on Friday that Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertiliser factory.
He appeared with his sister Kim Yo-jong, 32, with the crowd breaking into “thunderous cheers of hurrah," according to KCNA.
'BLOODSHED AND THREATS'
Now North Korean experts fear Kim will usher in a spate of killings as a way of sweeping away Pyongyang’s old-guard and to cement his own position.
The tyrant previously ordered his 67-year-old uncle to be murdered along with several loyal officers and imprisoned 200 officials for alleged treachery in a brutal purge.
Deputy Dean at the University of Essex Professor Natasha Lindstaedt told : “He’s always had this very vindictive pattern of showing his strength by killing people. It sends a clear message.
“The military has to keep him happy. The smallest thing is perceived as disloyalty.
“I think he may have sheltered from coronavirus and any fear of a coup plot would mean he’d come back with a vengeance.”
She added that Kim’s sister is now in a highly “precarious position”.
A Western security source, not named by the paper, echoed the risk of a Kim backlash, saying: “I believe we could expect a violent taking out of any perceived threat amongst Kim’s inner-circle.
“Any imagined slight against him would be regarded as dissent – and could result in a public execution or being sent to a jail camp.
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“Inevitably, this will end in bloodshed and more threats.”
While North Korea has denied they even exist Amnesty International has highlighted the numerous prison camps in the communist country, including the notorious Camp 25.
The various camps are said to hold thousands of men, women and children in “hellish” conditions - most of whom have committed no crimes but are being punished through guilt by association as relatives of those deemed to be threatening by the regime.
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