 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speaks at a banquet to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the start of the late leader Kim Jong-il's leadership over the Songun (military first) in this picture released by the North's official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang August 26, 2012. REUTERS/KCNA
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North Korea's vice defence chief was executed by firing squad for drinking alcohol during the official mourning period for dead dictator Kim Jong-il, South Korean media reports.
According to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, Gen. Kim Chol was executed in January, after new leader Kim Jong-un decided to look into senior officials' behaviour following his father's death.
The newspaper called the execution "an apparent bid to force top military brass into submission."
Chol was just one of 14 senior party members, military officials and government leaders killed for misbehaving during the mourning period, which followed the dictator's death on Dec. 17, 2011.
"It seems that the purges will continue for the time being, as Kim Jong-un is tightening his grip on power," said South Korean politician Yoon Sang-hyun, who says he obtained intelligence data outlining the executions.
