| [00:00.10] |
From VOA Learning English, |
| [00:06.86] |
this is In the News. |
| [00:08.96] |
This week, North Korea |
| [00:11.11] |
executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un. |
| [00:15.57] |
The official Korean Central News Agency said |
| [00:19.54] |
Jang Song Thaek was put to death on Thursday |
| [00:23.55] |
after facing a special military court. |
| [00:27.20] |
It said Jang was found guilty of attempting |
| [00:31.05] |
to overthrow the state, party and leadership. |
| [00:35.50] |
He was also accused of womanizing and drug abuse. |
| [00:40.95] |
The announcement came just days after Jang Song Thaek |
| [00:45.71] |
was publicly ousted from power |
| [00:48.38] |
for suspected disloyalty and corruption. |
| [00:52.48] |
Korean Central Television broadcast images of his arrest |
| [00:57.34] |
on Sunday at a meeting of the Korean Workers' Party. |
| [01:01.94] |
On Friday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper |
| [01:07.25] |
published pictures of Jang at the military trial. |
| [01:11.67] |
They showed him lowering his head, |
| [01:14.32] |
with guards on both sides. |
| [01:16.86] |
Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean history |
| [01:22.02] |
at Kookmin University in South Korea. |
| [01:25.67] |
He says ousters, or purges, |
| [01:28.97] |
of North Korean officials are not uncommon. |
| [01:32.97] |
But he says the level of publicity in this case is unusual. |
| [01:39.12] |
"In the past, hundreds or maybe even thousands |
| [01:42.22] |
of high level officials have been purged. |
| [01:45.42] |
Some of them executed. |
| [01:47.02] |
Some of them were sent to exile or prison. |
| [01:49.98] |
However, with very few exceptions in most areas, |
| [01:54.68] |
purges have always been fixed. |
| [01:57.28] |
Unlike say the Soviet Union under Stalin, |
| [02:00.44] |
when they remove the high level official, |
| [02:03.06] |
they usually did not make it public. |
| [02:06.81] |
When they did, it was never on such a scale." |
| [02:11.56] |
Leonid Petrov is a Korea expert |
| [02:14.96] |
with the Australian National University. |
| [02:17.96] |
He questions whether Jang Song Thaek |
| [02:21.31] |
was actually plotting to overthrow the government. |
| [02:25.11] |
"I think this has nothing to do with what really happened. |
| [02:27.46] |
Jang Song Thaek was a loyal member of Kim's regime. |
| [02:32.92] |
He was appointed by Kim Jong Il to supervise his son. |
| [02:36.84] |
Jang Song Thaek was doing everything possible |
| [02:39.18] |
to promote Kim Jong Un's image." |
| [02:42.54] |
Leonid Petrov says a personal or family dispute |
| [02:47.29] |
could have led to the execution. |
| [02:49.74] |
But he says it is also clear |
| [02:52.59] |
that Mr. Kim considered his uncle a threat. |
| [02:56.55] |
And he says the North Korean leader felt the need |
| [03:00.65] |
to send a message that he is in complete control. |
| [03:05.13] |
"The elites are scared to death at the moment. |
| [03:08.03] |
And the grassroots population of North Korea |
| [03:10.94] |
also gets the message that it is Kim Jong Un |
| [03:13.79] |
who is in the driving seat. |
| [03:14.89] |
They must follow his orders, |
| [03:16.79] |
and there's simply no alternative |
| [03:18.85] |
or any place for dissent in North Korea." |
| [03:22.05] |
Mr. Jang was quietly ousted from power not once, |
| [03:26.54] |
but two times under the former North Korean leader. |
| [03:30.35] |
But he regained power with the help of his wife Kim Kyong Hui, |
| [03:36.21] |
the sister of the former leader. |
| [03:38.46] |
Much of North Korea's central leadership |
| [03:42.26] |
is from the rule of Kim Jong Il. |
| [03:45.21] |
Many officials are in their 60s or 70s. |
| [03:49.47] |
This has led some observers to debate the level |
| [03:54.27] |
of their support for 30-year-old Kim Jong Un. |
| [03:58.62] |
Mr. Kim took power two years ago. |
| [04:02.13] |
Since then, |
| [04:03.25] |
he has replaced more than 40 percent of high level officials, |
| [04:08.85] |
and built his rule with a younger generation loyal to him. |
| [04:14.25] |
There were no signs of unrest in North Korea following the execution. |
| [04:20.15] |
But the South Korean Defense Ministry said |
| [04:23.50] |
it was closely watching the North Korean military |
| [04:27.47] |
for aggressive movements. |
| [04:29.77] |
On Friday, the office of South Korea's president |
| [04:33.92] |
held a national security meeting |
| [04:36.91] |
to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula. |
| [04:41.32] |
A Unification Ministry official said |
| [04:44.67] |
South Korea is watching the events with concern. |
| [04:48.98] |
And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English. |
| [04:54.94] |
I'm Steve Ember. |