You don't execute your army chief; nor do you hang your prime minister. North Korea, however, has earned the dubious distinction of becoming a country that has executed its army's chief of staff. Insofar as the hanging of an elected prime minister is concerned, Pakistan invited the global attention when Pakistan People's Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in a murder case.
According to media reports, North Korea's army chief of staff has been executed in what would amount to the latest in a series of purges and executions of top officials by leader Kim Jong-Un. Ri Yong-Gil, Chief of the Korean People's Army (KPA) General Staff was executed earlier this month for forming a political faction and corruption, Yonhap news agency said citing a source familiar with North Korean affairs. The report is said to have come at a time of highly elevated tensions on the divided Korean peninsula following the North's recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
Such purges were a hallmark of the Stalin-era in particular. It was during the 1960s that the communist world, particularly the then Soviet Union, made visible efforts towards loosening the grip of Stalinism. That North Korea has resorted to such tactics in the 21st century is a matter of greater import mainly because of the fact that Pyongyang has placed itself in a highly dangerous situation in recent months and years.