Kim Jong-un Lets Aunt Live After Executing Uncle
Kim Jong-un has let his aunt remain a top official in North Korea, even after he executed her husband, Jang Song-thaek, on Friday. Jang Song-thaek was a mentor to Kim Jong-un and second-in-command of the security-minded nation.
Mr. Jang, Kim's uncle, was executed on Thursday after the government reported he had attempted to overthrow it, marking the beginning of a purge of many of the nation's leader. Many had wondered whether Kim Kyong-hee, Kim Jong-un's aunt, who had been sixth-in-command before the execution of her husband, was "purged" as well, or even executed alongside her husband. But on Friday, her name appeared on a list of attendees for a state funeral for a former party secretary.
Kim Kyong-hee might have been spared because she is the only sister of the North Korean leader's father, Kim Jong-il. She has often been the solitary female face among the many men who make up North Korea's leadership.
In an editorial on Sunday, the main North Korean paper ran an editorial stating that a true revolutionary was "one who has no qualms about pointing his gun barrel at anyone who dare challenge the leader's authority, no matter who he is, even if he is a blood kin of the leader."
In other news, Dennis Rodman will coach the North Korean basketball team.