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A
soldier stands at attention in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday,
October 10, during a military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the
North Korea's ruling Worker's Party, and commemorating Kim Jong Un's
third-generation leadership.
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Unification
Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee held a press conference early on
Wednesday to address media reports of a public execution of a
senior-level North Korean official.
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North Korean soldiers march beneath a portrait of late leader Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father, during the parade in Pyongyang.
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Two other officials, Kim Yong Chol, the
head of North Korea's United Front Department (UFD), and a senior
member of North Korea's propaganda department, received "revolutionary
measures," commonly referred to as re-education, according to the
spokesman.
No other details are immediately available. Executions are widely considered a political tool for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to consolidate his hold on power.
In May 2015, the country's defense minister, Hyon Yong-chol, was reportedly killed with an anti-aircraft gun after being accused of treason. Two years earlier, Kim's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, was executed after being branded a "traitor for all ages."