Posted on 08/11/2016 10:37:22 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
(LEAD) N.K. publicly executes some 60 people this year: source
2016/08/12 12:20
(ATTN: ADDS more info, backgrounds from para 7)
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has publicly executed some 60 people so far this year as the reclusive country's leader Kim Jong-un strengthens his reign of terror, a source said Friday.
The move comes as more ordinary North Koreans are expressing dissatisfaction as Pyongyang has been forcing people to work longer hours and pay money to the regime in the face of economic hardships stemming from international sanctions, according to an insider familiar with the matter.
"As of August, the North is believed to have carried out the public execution on about 60 ordinary people," the source who wanted to remain anonymous said. "The figure is two times higher than the annual average of 30 people executed per year since the North's leader took office."
Since taking power in late 2011, Kim has stepped up his terror tactics by killing government and military officials in a bid to strengthen his iron-fisted rule.
The source speculated the regime is using public executions as a means of keeping the populace in line at a time when a series of work-hard drives has made more people harbor discontent against authorities.
In June, the communist country launched the "200-day campaign of loyalty," mobilizing a large number of people for construction and other projects, right after a similar work-hard campaign ended in May.
The source then added that North Korea has increased public executions of North Korean defectors' families and brokers who help North Koreans flee the country as it views escapes as a potential threat to the regime.
In February, Seoul's security agency arrested scores of people who helped deliver money sent by defectors living in South Korea to their families in the North on charges of espionage.
The North Korean leader is known to have ordered tighter control of its people in March, saying that if North Koreans are allowed to have more free time, they would only think about how to make more money and voice complaints about the regime, the source added.
In late May, Kim also ordered the resumption of the operation of an agency designed to clamp down on people who leave their workplaces or residences without permission.
The source said that he stressed that the crackdown is important as such deserters are criminals suspected of stealing classified information about the party and military, and delivering it to South Korea.
North Korea has intensified its border control and imposed stronger punishment on those who are caught fleeing the repressive country, according to a report by a South Korean think tank released in April.
According to the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), the country has strengthened its punishment on those who are caught using mobile phones. The report added that Pyongyang is cracking down on smuggled DVDs containing South Korean movies and dramas.
The communist country has long been labeled as one of the worst human rights violators in the world. Pyongyang has bristled at such criticism, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime.
The regime does not tolerate dissent, is known to hold hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps a tight lid on outside information that can undermine its rule.
The KINU said last year that the number of North Koreans who were executed publicly is estimated to have been nearly 1,400 between 2000 and 2014.
P!
Hillary’s taking notes.
Tiger do you see a coup from the ruling elites against Kim Jong un as the sanctions continue to tighten up and squeeze North Korea?
Sounds like their soccer team may have lost again.
I would bet that this regime makes Hillary jealous.
Just sixty?
Well, it’s only August.
Or until there is no one left.
During the Clinton era we never saw them more happy than when they visited a Communist country, like China. We are aghast at the size of their entourage and the cost to American taxpayers.
This form of government is attractive to the Clintons, Obama, and the Democrats. They love the control over the little people, like you.
Hillary!’s playing catch-up.
He’s pure evil, maybe worse than his father. Those people live in a situation that is like a real life 1984.
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