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| North Korean leader Kim Jong Un |
South Korean intelligence is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his defense minister executed for apparently falling asleep at a military event.
Seoul's Yonhap News Agency quotes an intelligence official as saying Hyon Yong Chol, whose formal title was Minister of the People's Armed Forces, was shot to death by an anti-aircraft gun. Hundreds of officials watched Hyon's execution on April 30, Han Ki-beom, the deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Agency, told a parliamentary committee in Seoul Wednesday.
Yonhap said Kim believed Hyon, who was appointed to his post less than a year ago, showed disloyalty and disrespect by dozing off. He also was reported to have challenged Kim on previous occasions.
In North Korea, the defense minister is mainly in charge of logistics and international exchanges. Policymaking is handled by the powerful National Defense Commission and the party Central Military Commission.
There has been no public comment on the report from the North.
Kim is known not to tolerate even the most minor dissent or challenge to his dictatorship. He had his own uncle put to death in 2013 for alleged disloyalty. South Korea's spy agency said late last month that Kim had ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority.
This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.