The South Korean government says that it has been monitoring reports that North Korea’s vice-premier Choe Yong-gon was executed in May on the orders of Kim Jong-un.
From the BBC:
Mr Choe was executed after he “expressed discomfort against the young leader’s forestation policy”, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
Allegedly close to 70 officials have been executed under Kim Jong-un’s rule.
Choe Yong-gon was deputy minister of construction and building material industries. He had represented North Korea in trade talks in Seoul previously.
He was appointed as one of seven vice-premiers in June last year, and his promotion was seen by one analyst as a sign Pyongyang was keen to maintain close ties with the South, according to the BBC.