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| In an image released by South Korea's Yonhap news agency on December 9, 2013, Jang Song-Thaek is reportedly being dragged away from his chair by two police officials during a meeting in Pyongyang. |
January 26, 2014: the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency reported that all relatives of the executed uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had also been put to death at the leader's instruction.
Jang Song-thaek, the once-powerful uncle, was executed in December 2013 on charges of attempting to overthrow the communist regime, including contemplating a military-backed coup.
"All relatives of Jang have been put to death, including even children," one source said on condition of anonymity.
The executed relatives include Jang's sister Jang Kye-sun, her husband and Ambassador to Cuba Jon Yong-jin, and Ambassador to Malaysia Jang Yong-chol, who was a nephew of Jang, as well as his two sons, the sources said.
All of them were recalled to Pyongyang in early December 2013 and executed, they said. The sons, daughters and even grandchildren of Jang's two brothers were all executed, they said.
It was unclear exactly when they were killed, but they are believed to have been put to death after Jang's death on 12 December.
"Some relatives were shot to death by pistol in front of other people if they resisted while being dragged out of their apartment homes," another source said.
Some relatives by marriage, including the wife of the ambassador to Malaysia, have been spared from executions and sent to remote villages along with their maiden families, according to the sources.
"The executions of Jang's relatives mean that no traces of him should be left," a source said. "The purge of the Jang Song-thaek people is under way on an extensive scale from relatives and low-level officials."
Source: Yonhap, January 26, 2014