Kim Jong-Un’s Purge of Officials Threatens Stability of Regime

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Free Beacon:

Reports say North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un appears to be continuing a purge of senior officials that he deems disloyal, threatening the stability of his regime and raising substantial security concerns for the United States.

 

Choe Ryong Hae, a top ambassador for North Korea and member of a prominent military family, did not attend a funeral this week for a senior military official, the Wall Street Journal reported. Most other political and military leaders in the Kim regime made an appearance, suggesting that Choe might have been reprimanded and forced to attend ideological training.

 

If Choe has been blacklisted, he could face a threat against his life. Kim is reported to have executed about 70 officials since taking power in 2011 as part of an effort to eliminate potential rivals. In 2013, reports indicated that Kim had executed Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and second-in-command.

 

While it is notoriously difficult to verify reports from the hermetic state, U.S. officials and analysts say a purge by Kim could always incite a backlash from within his regime. Kim has intensified his threats against the United States and U.S. regional allies as well as deployed more missiles and nuclear weapons in another attempt to demonstrate his authority.

 

In its 2016 Index of U.S. Military Strength, the Heritage Foundation determined that North Korea poses a “severe” threat to vital U.S. interests, the highest level in the think tank’s rankings. The Kim regime “possesses nuclear weapons capable of reaching U.S. facilities and America’s critical security and economic partners in the region,” the report said.