North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has executed more than 30 of his own officials after the country was rocked by a series of devastating floods over the summer.
According to South Korean news outlet TV Chosun, the North Korean government shot between 20 and 30 people at the end of August for failing to prevent floods that killed over 3,500 North Korean citizens.
Korean Central Television – a state-owned broadcaster in North Korea – had stated “those who caused unacceptable loss of life should be severely punished. Kim Jong Un held an emergency meeting following the flooding of the Yalu River, and fired several top officials, including the minister of social security, and the chief secretary of the party of Jagang Province.
Kim Jong Un executes 30 officials over floods in North Korea that killed 4,000.
3,500 people died in #Chagang Province alone due to #flood damage in #NorthKorea #KimJongUn #Breaking pic.twitter.com/ZIfODWPp9x
— Chaudhary Parvez (@ChaudharyParvez) September 4, 2024
A North Korean official confirmed the officials had been executed, including the fired Kang Bong-Hoon – the chief secretary of the Jagang Party.
”It has been determined that 20~30 cadres in the flood-affected area were shot dead at the end of last month…We are also investigating the circumstances that included Kang Bong-Hoon, the party’s chief secretary of the Jagang Party, who was sacked,” the official said.
TV Chosun stated the North Korean government is trying to control public sentiment by terrorizing its citizens, especially in areas close to the border. In that effort, North Korean authorities have allegedly “added charges of corruption and neglect of duty to the flood victims.”
According to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, “North Korea is among the world’s most repressive states, engaging in widespread and systematic human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, torture, forced abortion, arbitrary detention, and denial of the rights of expression, association, assembly, and religion.”
North Korea also punishes three generations of a person’s family if they commit a crime against the regime through a system called songbun. Songbun is used to classify a citizen’s attitude towards the regime – this determines career prospects, food, and housing.
The law was introduced by North Korea’s founder and late-leader Kim Il Sung, who believed anyone who had anti-government sentiments should be wiped out entirely, and up to three generations of their family should be punished for it.
Leaving North Korea is prohibited. If defectors are caught, they are then imprisoned within the regime’s network of forced labor camps. Currently, there is an estimated 120,000 political prisoners within these camps, where they are subjected to torture, and are confined indefinitely.
A report from the Council on Foreign Relations states North Korea is entering into a rapid period of change, despite the regime being historically resistant to outside influence. This will be a challenge for Kim, as he needs to cultivate strong support from elites while successfully managing the changes to meet his goal of making North Korea prosperous.
Kim’s international relationships, particularly with Western nations, continue to deteriorate due to North Korea’s growing relationship with Russia, which includes Kim’s export of ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned Kim’s actions during a summit in Seoul Wednesday. In a joint statement from Luxon’s office, both sides called for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea, and urged Kim to take up offers of international dialogue.
Thank you for hosting me in Korea President Yoon. Today we reinforced how important our countries are to each other. Our relationships in trade, defence, and culture continue to go from strength to strength. pic.twitter.com/y3asy2ieOh
— Christopher Luxon (@chrisluxonmp) September 4, 2024
The Strait Times, a South Korean news outlet, reported Wednesday the North Koreans have been sending balloons across the border to the south filled with garbage, and in some instances, human waste. According to a joint statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the garbage-filled balloons were last delivered a month ago.
North Korea said the balloons were in response to South Korean activists sharing anti-propaganda materials which posed a threat to the regime. In a petty back-and-forth, South Korea has played K-Pop and other propaganda over loudspeakers since 2015.
North Korea says it’ll stop sending trash balloons, hours after South Korea threatened to turn propaganda loudspeakers back on across the DMZ.
South Korea has used loudspeakers along its border with North Korea to broadcast K-pop music and other propaganda since 2015. pic.twitter.com/ee2eG57R6E
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 4, 2024
In June, Kim played host to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which both agreed to provide military aid to each other in the event one of them is attacked. Kim has since increased his testing of ballistic missiles around the South Korean border.
Putin was very glad to see Kim Jo-un. Together they visited different facilities at the Cosmodrome. “ There is time to talk about everything”, said Putin when asked about military- technological cooperation of the two countries. pic.twitter.com/gccOBgju9Y
— Vladi (@joiedevivre789) September 13, 2023
First footage has been released showing the historic meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. pic.twitter.com/adAQlOQZiQ
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 19, 2024
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