Kim Jong-un's Stalinist purge laid bare as bungling commanders VANISH from official pics over warship crash humiliation
FURIOUS Kim Jong-un is feared to have begun executing navy commanders he deems responsible for the botched warship launch.
Humiliated North Korean tyrant Kim has airbrushed state photos to remove bungling officials - making it seem like they never existed.
10
The iron-fist ruler was left red-faced after his 5,000-ton naval destroyer ended up on its side as he branded the disaster a "criminal act".
Several officials at the northern Chongjin shipyard were arrested after the failure in May as Kim blasted their "absolute carelessness".
But now the dictator appears to have started purging those he holds accountable after warning their mistake was "never to be forgiven".
Navy Commander Admiral Kim Myong Sik and shipyard boss Hong Kil Ho have also been erased from pictures of an inspection in a move reminiscent of Joseph Stalin 's attempts to rewrite history.
Soviet dictator Stalin - despite lack of photoshop in the 20th century - famously got his cronies to remove NKVD (later KGB) chief Nikolai Yezhov from a photo after he fell out of favour and was executed.
Much like Yezhov's removal from an image beside Stalin, both Kim Myong Sik and Hong Kil Ho have been edited out of photos originally broadcast on state TV on March 8 after Kim viewed the vessel.
Veteran North Korea watcher Michael Madden said it is likely they had both been executed - or are in line for that experience imminently.
Madden, founder of NK Leadership Watch, told The Sun: "The airbrushing of a North Korean official from a state media image like this is a strong indication that the person in question has been executed.
"The intention is to make it as if the person never existed."
Kim Myong Sik and Hong Kil Ho were among at least four officials arrested at the shipyard after Kim's prized guided-missile destroyer was damaged as it capsized during its launch on May 21.
Humiliated Kim Jong Un lauds FAILED 'sunken' warship in bizarre relaunch ceremony
They have both been scrubbed from images of Kim inspecting the warship during construction, which have been republished this month.
Madden added: "If Kim Myong Sik fell on his sword, he may have avoided a public execution and saved his family and close associates from imprisonment.
"On the other hand, if KJU is in a message-sending mood then they may gather other top officials in the military and defense industry to watch.
"Admiral Kim Myong Sik has been around as a top navy commander since KJU assumed leadership in 2011.
"But he has had an inconsistent career--even before this he had already been dismissed twice as North Korea's top navy commander. The third time was not the charm for Admiral Kim.
"This underscores that when North Korea has a high official executed that it is not for a one-off infraction.
"Rather, the view is that the leader and the party have given you many chances to prove yourself.
"By not redeeming yourself you are abusing the trust bestowed on you holding the high office.
"This seems to be the case with Admiral Kim."
10
10
10
10
Both Kim Myong Sik and Hong Kil Ho were noticeably absent from the relaunch ceremony after being ousted from their respective posts.
Despot Kim saw red when the initial launch embarrassed him on the world stage - accusing those responsible for 'severely damaging the [country's] dignity and pride'.
Satellite images showed the warship on its side beside the launch dock, partially submerged at the stern with its bow resting on the harbour jetty.
North Korea's implementation of the death penalty has long been condemned by human rights groups.
The nation's hermetic state means the true number of executions isn't clear - but defectors have given gruesome accounts.
In February, The Sun reported how dozens of party officials were punished for an embarrassing "drinking spree" that ended in a "major incident" at Ryonggang Hot Springs resort.
Insiders believe this could have involved physical fights, abuse towards staff, cavorting with mistresses and trashing the premises.
It was feared Kim could send his own officials to face the firing squad as a result after wiping the committee off the map.
Last year, North Korea admitted carrying out public executions in a rare admission of its treatment of prisoners.
Executions were ordered for 30 officials in September after Kim accused them of failing to prevent flooding and landslides that killed 1,000 people.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Astonishing moment North Korean missile launcher is destroyed by Ukraine drone - igniting projectile that flies through front of vehicle with crew still inside
This is the astonishing moment a North Korean missile launcher is completely destroyed by a Ukrainian drone while its crew was still inside. The footage released by Ukrainian military shows its projectile tearing through the 240mm calibre multiple rocket launcher (MLRS), known as the M1991, in the village of Novopavlivka. It comes just two months after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops and artillery to fight alongside Russians in Ukraine. Posting the video to social media, the Command of the Unmanned Systems Forces, who specialise in drone warfare in the Ukrainian military, said it had decimated the 'rare' North Korean launcher. They wrote: 'In the Novopavliv direction, operators of the 413th Battalion "Raid" Forces of Unmanned Systems detected and destroyed the reactive system of salvage fire M1991 manufactured by North Korea.' The unit added that the incident occurred in April this year and that it was the first time it had seen such levels of North Korean assistance on the battlefield. In the footage, the drone can be seen approaching the MLRS, which has a range of up to 60 kilometres, before it unleashes the jaw-dropping precision strike in the village around 35 miles away from the city of Zaporizhzhia. The impact then causes the warhead to completely rip through to the crew compartment, where two soldiers appear to jump out the window after somehow escaping the blast. The Command of the Unmanned Systems Forces said it then destroyed 'the entire ammunition'. It is thought that the Russian military had sought to use the M1991 as it was an improvement on its own Uragan 220mm MLRS - as Vladimir Putin continues his invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has proven to be a staunch ally of the Russian President after it provided ballistic missiles, 120 long-range artillery systems and 120 MLRS's to the Kremlin. Those figures, which were announced by Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, represented the most significant direct military package handed to Russia by any country since the war broke out. It was also reported in May that Russia and North Korea had begun building their first road link, with the two countries hailing the construction of a bridge over a border river as a major development that will further expand their political and economic ties. The kilometre-long Tumangang Road bridge, which is expected to take 18 months to construct, aims to expand cross-border travel of people, tourism and circulation of commodities, Russian and North Korean news agencies reported. Before the announcment, both countries simultaneously held a ceremony for the bridge's construction in their respective border cities of Tumangang and Khasan on either side of the Tumen River, close to their existing rail 'Friendship Bridge'. North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song said the bridge's construction would be remembered as 'a historic monument' in bilateral ties, North Korea's KCNA reported. 'This is a big milestone for Russian-Korean relations,' Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin added, according to Russian news agency TASS. 'We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue.' It came days after Pyongyang confirmed it had sent combat troops to Russia to help it reclaim parts of the Kursk region that Ukrainian forces seized in a stunning incursion last year. Putin thanked North Korea and promised not to forget the sacrifices of its soldiers for Russia. According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment previously shared with lawmakers, North Korea had sent about 15,000 troops to Russia and 4,700 of them have been killed or wounded at that time. State media in North Korea said its fighters had made an 'important contribution' to Russia's war effort by driving Ukrainians out of Russian territory.
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Telegraph
Farmer saves stranded neighbour with drone
A jerry-rigged drone has been used to airlift a man who was trapped on a rooftop in southern China by rising flood waters. Footage has emerged showing the young man being rescued on Tuesday evening when a neighbour spotted him calling for help from the roof of his crumbling two-story house in the city Liuzhou. Fast-flowing waters coursing through the streets had prevented rescue speedboats from coming to the man's assistance for the previous hour. The neighbour, who gave his name as Mr Lai, devised a rescue plan using his agricultural drone, a device capable of carrying weights of up to 100kg, which is normally used to haul bricks and cement or spray pesticides. Mr Lai fashioned a makeshift harness by tying a sandbag to one end of the drone's lifting rope and attaching a safety buckle, local media said. Safe landing He flew the drone to the man and instructed him over the phone to sit on the sandbag and to tie his hands and feet with the safety buckle to the drone's rope. Footage captured by a witness shows the drone then soaring 65ft into the air with the man hanging underneath, his legs dangling through the harness. The drone then navigates through trees and pylons before safely depositing its passenger on a road below. The rescue operation took less than two minutes. Mr Lai, who first learnt how to pilot a drone in August, admitted what he did was illegal but said he feared the house could collapse at any moment. 'I know that manned drones are illegal, but at the time I was worried about the house collapsing and was eager to save people, so I don't recommend that you imitate it,' he told The Beijing News. China hit by storms Over the past two days, 13 major rivers in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Hainan were hit by storms and had risen above their warning levels, state television reported, citing the Ministry of Water Resources. Record downpours in Rongjiang, in the south-east of the country, left six dead and forced more than 80,000 people to flee their homes. The amount of rain that fell over 72 hours was double the city's average for June.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
At least 32 people killed after heavy rain causes flash flooding in northern Pakistan
At least 32 people have been killed in Pakistan in recent flash flooding caused by heavy rains, including a family of tourists who died after being swept away by flood waters while apparently awaiting rescue. Videos of the family stranded on a small piece of land as the raging Swat river in northern Pakistan swept them away were shared widely on social media, prompting anger towards the provincial government as eyewitnesses said the family waited helplessly for more than an hour. Flash floods and heavy rains have killed 32 people, including 16 children, in Pakistan in the past 36 hours; 13 were from Punjab province and 19 from the north-west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the tourist family died. Sheikh Waqas Akram, the central information secretary of the former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which is in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said they had suspended four senior officials from the Swat administration and emergency rescue department. Akram said the chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, ordered an inquiry and asked that the report be submitted in a week, in documents seen by the Guardian. 'The province conveyed a meeting on flash floods on 21 June,' Akram told the Guardian. 'Soon after the meeting we issued warnings and announced it through speakers in mosques as well. It was done to spread awareness and ask tourists to be away from the riverbank and never step on the riverbed. At least 71 people were booked in cases in violation of the warnings.' He added: 'It was a tragic and unfortunate incident and the tourists were in the riverbed.' When the flash flood occurred, the family from Punjab province were having a picnic breakfast by the Swat river in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The family had gone into the river to rescue the children, who had been taking photos, government officials said. According to Akram, at least 17 people were swept away in the flash floods in Swat river – nine bodies of the family have been recovered and one is missing. Four other people were rescued while three are still missing. He said the rescue efforts are continuing. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) later issued an alert saying there were high flood levels and warning people to take precautions. Pakistan, with a population of more than 240 million, is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the effects of the climate crisis. Climate induced flash floods in 2022, killed at least 1,700 people and affected more than 33 million people. The incident prompted discussion in Pakistan on the climate crisis, provincial governments' role in preventing such incidents, tourists avoiding warnings and allegations of incompetence and corruption in local government. The former climate change minister Sherry Rehman said the tourists in Pakistan no longer respond to colonial-era instructions such as section 144 – which allows district administrations to place bans on activities – and they seem not to heed extreme weather warnings. Rehman criticised poor government signalling on the climate crisis and a lack of coordinated efforts, saying: 'Public resources also fell egregiously short in this tragedy. The PDMA should have mobilised a helicopter to get to the marooned family in time. It's outrageous negligence on their part not to have.' Many social media users criticised the government for failing to rescue the stranded family as eyewitness accounts said the family was stranded for more than one hour without any help. The PDMAs were created after the deadly 2005 earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and are responsible for responding in a timely way to natural calamities, floods and disasters. The disaster authorities in different Pakistani provinces have been accused of corruption.
