China Loses North Korea Link, But May Welcome Purge

Jang Song Thaek – uncle and mentor to North Korea’s young dictator, described as the regime’s second most powerful member after Kim Jong Un – was charged with treason and promptly executed. The swift purge demonstrates ruthless, tenuous power in the impoverished, isolated nation. Jang, 67, was described as a link between North Korea and Beijing. “In the two years since the death of Kim Jong-il, at least four of the seven leaders who joined the younger Kim in marching alongside his father’s hearse at the funeral – a core leadership group dubbed the ‘Gang of Seven’ by South Korean media – have now reportedly been sidelined, with further military and political purges likely,” reports Agence France-Presse. The report suggests that analysts are divided, and China can only hope the purges represent consolidation of Kim’s authority and certainty. But North Korea’s mysterious leadership could be intent on imposing extreme isolation and fear as hardliners view everyone as threat. North Koreans and other nations can’t be sure of where they stand with this regime. – YaleGlobal