After uncle's execution, what's next for Kim Jong Un?
BEIJING — A stooped figure in handcuffs, condemned by a military tribunal, then taken for immediate execution Thursday, Jang Song Thaek is now vilified as "traitor" and "human scum" in North Korea, where until recently he counted as its second-most-powerful figure.
The dramatic downfall of Jang, the uncle and apparent mentor of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, surprised even veteran observers of the brutal regime founded by Kim's grandfather. Many analysts agree Kim Jong Un, 30, is trying to consolidate his rule, but the wider implications for this tightly sealed state remain as tough to fathom as ever, they said.
In the South Korean capital of Seoul on Friday, security ministers quickly convened a meeting to discuss "analysis and predictions," reported the Yonhap news agency. Pyongyang has regularly threatened South Korea and its main ally the USA, which maintains thousands of troops there.
North Korea watchers worldwide are likewise scrambling to make sense of Kim Jong Un's move against the husband of his aunt Kim Kyong Hui, sister of Kim's father Kim Jong Il, the nation's previous ruler.
"His father and grandfather got rid of a lot of people, but did it in a very quiet manner, not making big news out of it," said Tong Kim, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul, who expects the aunt, as a direct blood relative, will survive.
Kim Jong Un and his close associates "must have felt intimidated if not threatened, so decided to get rid of Jang first," Tong Kim said.
"No one can be sure what this young leader may do," he added, but his priority must be stabilizing the domestic political situation. That leaves little room for the North Korean leader to consider military provocations in the West Sea or another nuclear test, at least for now, Tong Kim said.
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