Kim Jong-un executes officials for dozing off in a meeting

Known for his tough laws, North Korean supremo, Kim Jong-un, ordered execution of two high-ranking officials by anti-aircraft gun at the military academy in Pyongyang.

The daily quoted the source as saying Hwang was executed over a policy proposal that represented a direct challenge to the Kim regime. Kim Jong Un reportedly reacted to the defection by ordering that any officials who allowed it to happen be executed.

The JoongAng Ilbo identified the murdered officials as former agriculture minister Hwang Min and senior education ministry official Ri Yong Jin.

President Park Geun-hye said Monday that her government would continue to “send a message of hope for North Korean people for the life of liberty and dignity”.

Yong-jin is at least the second person to be executed for falling asleep in the presence of Kim Jong-un. However, several reports of purges and executions in the past have later proved inaccurate.

Mr Ri “dozed off during a meeting presided over by Kim”, the source said.

North Korea has renamed a major youth association founded by the country’s late founder, the North’s state media said Monday, a move seen aimed at strengthening internal solidarity.

Kim had his military chief Ri Yong Gil executed in February on charges including corruption, Yonhap News reported at the time. No announcement has been made by the state’s official KCNA news agency.

The reports of these executions could not be verified and South Korea’s Unification Ministry – which usually handles North Korea-related matters – has not commented. The most high-profile was the December 2013 execution of Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle and former political guardian.

“Kim is continuing to replace the old guard of his father’s regime with loyalists”, said Robert Kelly, a political science professor at South Korea’s Pusan National University.

The last official to be killed with an anti-aircraft gun was former Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol, who was executed last May.