North Korea executed two senior economic officials last month — not one as previously reported — over a botched currency revamp that forced markets to close temporarily and fueled social tensions, a media outlet that specializes in the North reported.
The North redenominated the won in December as part of efforts to fight inflation and reassert control over its burgeoning market economy. That reportedly sparked unrest after many North Koreans were stuck with piles of worthless bills. A government economist said last week markets were forced to close for several days because of problems setting prices.
The two officials were executed by firing squad on March 12 at a stadium in Pyongyang before an audience of members of the ruling Workers Party and finance officials, the Seoul-based Daily NK reported on Sunday, citing a source in Pyongyang it did not identify.
South Korea’s Ministry of Unification, which handles relations with the North, and the National Intelligence Service said they could not immediately confirm the report.
The officials were the ruling party’s finance and planning department chief who spearheaded the reform, Pak Nam-gi, and a deputy chief of the State Planning Commission, Daily NK said.
Pak’s execution was reported last month by other South Korean media, but there has been no official confirmation.
The agency did not have the name of the second official. It was the first to give a date and location of Pak’s execution.
The Daily NK said it could not provide other details, including whether its source saw the execution firsthand, citing concerns about the source’s safety. The outlet was one of the few North Korea monitoring agencies that broke the news of the currency reform.
It is not unprecedented for Pyongyang to execute officials for policy failures. In the 1990s, North Korea publicly executed a top agricultural official following widespread starvation.
Pak was arrested in late January at the end of a three-day meeting in Pyongyang on the currency revamp, the report said.
It said a judge called Pak a “traitor that plunged the people’s life into distress” just before the execution.
North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated nations and its radios and TV sets receive only broadcasts by state media. One way monitoring agencies in Seoul get information from sources in North Korea is via illicit mobile phones that connect to networks in neighboring China.
Senior North Korean economist Ri Ki-song told APTN last week that markets closed temporarily after the redomination but later reopened as the economy stabilized.
Speaking in a rare interview, Ri denied reports of social upheaval following the change.
The North faces chronic food shortages and has relied on aid to feed much of its population since a famine that is believed to have killed as many as 2 million people in the 1990s.
A 64-year-old US woman took her own life inside a controversial suicide capsule at a Swiss woodland retreat, with Swiss police on Tuesday saying several people had been arrested. The space-age looking Sarco capsule, which fills with nitrogen and causes death by hypoxia, was used on Monday outside a village near the German border. The portable human-sized pod, self-operated by a button inside, has raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland. Active euthanasia is banned in the country, but assisted dying has been legal for decades. On the same day it was used, Swiss Department of Home
‘CLOSER TO THE END’: The Ukrainian leader said in an interview that only from a ‘strong position’ can Ukraine push Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘to stop the war’ Decisive actions by the US now could hasten the end of the Russian war against Ukraine next year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday after telling ABC News that his nation was “closer to the end of the war.” “Now, at the end of the year, we have a real opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the United States,” Zelenskiy said in a post on Telegram after meeting with a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress. “Decisive action now could hasten the just end of Russian aggression against Ukraine next year,” he wrote. Zelenskiy is in the US for the UN
TIGHTENING: Zhu Hengpeng, who worked for an influential think tank, has reportedly not been seen in public since making disparaging remarks on WeChat A leading Chinese economist at a government think tank has reportedly disappeared after being disciplined for criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a private chat group. Zhu Hengpeng (朱恆鵬), 55, is believed to have made disparaging remarks about China’s economy, and potentially about the Chinese leader specifically, in a private WeChat group. Zhu was subsequently detained in April and put under investigation, the Wall Street Journal reported. Zhu worked for the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) for more than 20 years, most recently as the Institute of Economics deputy director and director of the Public Policy Research Center. He
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in