"North Korea executed its defense chief by putting him in front of an anti-aircraft gun at a firing range, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers, which would be the latest in a series of high-level purges since Kim Jong Un took charge.
Hyon Yong Chol, who headed the isolated nuclear-capable country’s military, was charged with treason, including disobeying Kim and falling asleep during an event at which North Korea’s young leader was present, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed in a closed-door meeting with the spy agency on Wednesday.
His execution was watched by hundreds of people, according to NIS intelligence shared with lawmakers."
What? This is some sadistic dysfunctional shit. Like people who torture small animals for fun.
At least Kim is not a religious hypocrite pretending to do this in the name of God. Second the minister knew the rules and risks working so close to Kim. Third being killed by an aa gun is probably more human than by injection as in the USA. All of the foregoing aside the whole shit is disgusting.
So I thought about it more and in a way the guy got what he deserved.
This guy in particular was the head of the entire military. His friends who have been executed this year were all part of the powerful elite and they all sit by at lavish dinners and watch as the nation is run into the ground, people starve and others are imprisoned without lifting a hand.
All things considered, at the end of the day good riddence.
Yeah it’s a bit weird that Kim can’t or won’t fire people and replace them with loyalists. Either North Korea is just extreme like that, or the fired officials will still be a threat to Kim after removed from office. Kim is also probably worried that he himself might be assassinated by conspiring government officials.
Occassionally, disgruntled bureaucrats or military personnel will defect from North Korea – and spill the beans about the bizarre stuff that’s going on in the country.
Shooting potentially disgruntled people with missiles seems like a good way to discourage this.
It actually has the opposite effect. Dissidents and those seeking to overthrow are doing a risk calculus of the status quo versus taking action. If the status quo becomes inherently riskier, the incentive to remain complacent diminishes.
You know you come off like a dick when you do that right? Particularly when you’re wrong. What’s the “M” stand for in SAM again? Here’s a list of what NK has available. I’d say those look like missiles.
In theory, that sounds right. In practice, it doesn’t work. Kim’s been blowing people up since he took over (and his father wasn’t much better btw) and we’re still waiting for that coup. You may be right eventually, but even then it’s more likely someone even more brutal would seize power from Kim.
Just to clarify–I just read something (not the OP’s article) that said that he was probably shot with a fully automatic 14.7mm anti-aircraft gun.
I am not intimately familiar with a 14.7mm anti-aircraft gun, but I have shot a .50 Caliber fully automatic weapon in the Marine Corps–the M2A1. (.50 caliber = 12.7mm). This is the same weapon that they use against armored personnel carriers, using steel-piercing indendiary rounds. This was the most awe-inspring weapon that I have personally used, including the MK-19 fully-automatic grenade launcher. (I never got to fire a claymore mine. That would have been cool.)
If I’m not mistaken, it’s illegal to use a .50 caliber fully automatic weapon against a human target. The bullet doesn’t even have to strike you. If it comes within two feet of you, it will rip flesh off of your body. I am quite certain that with just a couple of bullets, there would be very little of you left. I don’t envy the guy who has to mop up what remains of Mr. Rumsfeld.
Brutality can work if peopl fear and respect the guy. People might fear Junior here, but it’s hard to see how he could have their respect. A great leader like Che or Stalin could get away with this, but this is no Che…
