JANG Sung-taek "sledge-hammered" out (tu quoque, patrui mi?)

No textbook purge would skip the trial part. And here's how, in KCNA words*, the old "despicable human scum Jang, who was worse than a dog" ended:

"The special military tribunal of the Ministry of State Security of the DPRK confirmed that the state subversion attempted by the accused Jang with an aim to overthrow the people’s power of the DPRK by ideologically aligning himself with enemies is a crime punishable by Article 60 of the DPRK Criminal Code, vehemently condemned him as a wicked political careerist, trickster and traitor for all ages in the name of the revolution and the people and ruled that he would be sentenced to death according to it. The decision was immediately executed."

Blaming JANG for every crime except Kennedy's murder and the NY Mets' latest losing streak, KCNA nailed his coffin with the finesse of a car crusher:

"Every sentence of the decision served as sledge-hammer blow brought down by our angry service personnel and people on the head of Jang, an anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional element and despicable political careerist and trickster." (...)

JANG's execution was very much expected, and not only because KIM Jong-un spilled the beans the other day (see "Exclusive interview with KIM Jong-un"): there was no other issue for this purge, and in the 'random' interviews of 'people on the street' spread over the past few days by North Korean media, each citizen gave their own preference for the mode of execution of the abominable traitor for all ages.

Propaganda displayed two key sets of images: the official - theatrical - arrest in front of unshaken apparatchiks, and the presentation to the judge. Two soldiers have replaced the two upper-grade officers, and Judas keeps his low profile all the way:

Brass to pick up the 'traitor'...

... low rank staff to bring him to the military tribunal

No drama: the system is discarding a rotten apple at its pace, by the rule of law - or what passes for it that side of the DMZ. The system also acknowledges dissent at the top, but leaves no room for misinterpretation about how it intends to cope with it.

Adding more material to a future Scorcese-style biopic, JANG's wife KIM Kyong-hui is rumored to have okayed the purge, and KIM Jong-chul to have acted as a true brother in arms for KIM Jong-un, holding his uncle's guards with a gun. 

You'll have to wait for the next episode of "The Prisoner" to know if he's the next Number 2, and whom the giant white balloon will get next.



Seoul Village 2013
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* see "North Korea executes 'traitor' Jang Song-taek" (NKnews.org 20131213)