Special to WorldTribune.com
The mysterious death of a top aide to Kim Jong-Un has all the markings of another purge by the young leader, analysts say.
Kim Yang-Gon, secretary of the Workers’ Party and Kim Jong-Un’s point man on South Korea, was killed in a car crash in Pyongyang at 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 29. At that time, analysts say, there would have been almost no traffic in a city that has very few cars on its roads to begin with.
“How heavy is the traffic in downtown Pyongyang?” asked Greg Scarlatoiu, the director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.
“Is Kim Jong-Un revisiting his father’s style? Staging car crashes, for example, traffic accidents, in order to eliminate those who are seen as a potential threat to his grip on power?”
Three tops officials were killed in car crashes during the reign of Kim Jong-Il.
Kim Yang-Gon, 73, was in charge of the United Front Department and in August led a North Korean delegation to Seoul where he is said to have defused a crisis triggered by the North’s wounding of two South Korean soldiers in the demilitarized zone.
Kim Jong-Un is said to have executed at least 70 officials since inheriting the leadership of North Korea from his father in December 2011.
In 2013, Kim had his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek, executed. In April 2015, defense minister Gen. Hyon Yong-Chol was fired and likely executed.
Top aide to Kim Jong-Un killed in another Pyongyang car crash, a city with few cars added by World Tribune on
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