North Korea publicly executes defense chief, say South Korean reports

North Korea has publicly executed the country's defense minister after the regime accused him of treason, according to reports from South Korea on Tuesday. Hyon Yong Chol was killed by fire from an anti-aircraft gun at a military school in front of hundreds of people in Pyongyang, the South Korean Intelligence Service (NIS) was reported to have told parliament members in a closed door session. 

Hyon was executed because he expressed discontent towards leader Kim Jong Un, and failed to follow Kim's orders on several occasions, according to Kim Gwang-lim, chairman of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee and a lawmaker with the Saenuri Party who attended the briefing. However, on Friday, an official with South Korea's NIS told CNN that while the agency was sure Hyon had been "purged," it had not confirmed whether he had been executed.

The reports are impossible to independently verify due to North Korea's strict control over information coming in and out of the country.

Read more