Kim Jong-un ordered aunt to divorce Jang a day before execution
Staff Reporter 2013-12-17 15:16
Kim Kyong-hui, center, attends a function as a general of the Korean People's Army. (Internet photo)
North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un ordered his aunt Kim Kyong-hui, the daughter of his late grandfather Kim Il-sung, to divorce Jang Sung-taek a day before the country's former No. 2 was executed, reports Japan's Asahi Shimbun.
Jang, 67, formerly said to have been Kim Jong-un's mentor, was executed on Dec. 12 for allegedly seeking to seize power. He was described as "despicable human scum" by state media and accused of treason, corruption, womanizing, gambling and taking drugs.
Kim Kyong-hui, 67, appears to have been spared the same fate as her ex-husband, with a state media report naming her alongside top officials in an ad hoc funeral committee for fellow senior Workers' Party official Kim Kuk-thae, who passed away a day after Jang's execution. As secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, she was placed sixth among the list of 53 funeral committee members.
South Korean media reports claim that Kim Kyong-hui, who is said to have been a heavy drinker in her youth, has an array of serious health problems including diabetes and heart and liver ailments. Her condition has reportedly worsened considerably since the death of her older brother — Kim Jong-un's father Kim Jong-il — so much so that people who have not seen her for some time have difficulty recognizing her.
The Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's main newswire service, cited sources claiming that Pyongyang is now recalling North Korean businessmen and investors from China and intends to call back all North Korean officials stationed with its only diplomatic ally. The decision is said to be linked to the belief that these people were regarded as being under the influence of Jang, who had been North Korea's primary driver of Chinese-style economic reform until his dramatic fall from grace.
