Kim Jong-un has erased a top military commander and another senior official from state photos after the North Korean leader was reportedly left fuming over a failed warship launch.
Navy Commander Admiral Kim Myong Sil and and shipyard boss Hong Kil Ho were airbrushed from images showing them with their leader back in March, sparking speculation that they may have been executed.
Original snaps showed Admiral King and the shipyard boss gathered next to the North Korean leader as he inspected the ship.
But now, in a move reminiscent of Joseph Stalin’s tactics to erase his enemies from Soviet history, the officials have seemingly disappeared from the photos that were originally broadcast on state television.
Founder of NK Leadership Watch Michael Madden told The Sun that the removal of a North Korean official from a state media image was a ‘strong indication that the person in question has been executed.’
Admiral Kim and Hong Kil Ho are understood to have been among the four officials arrested at the northern Chongjin shipyard after Kim Jong-un’s guided-missile destroyer sank during its launch on May 21.
The North Korean leader was left fuming after the disastrous launch last month, and he accused those responsible for ‘severely damaging the [country’s] dignity and pride.’
Satellite images appeared to show the naval destroyer languishing on its side alongside the dock where the launch ceremony had been held.
State media said the 5,000-ton ship, which had been due to enter service next year, is designed to carry weapons systems including near-capable ballistic and cruise missiles.
Kim Jong Un, who wants bigger warships to deal with what he calls escalating US-led threats against his country, declared the mishap a ‘criminal act caused by absolute carelessness’ that ‘could not be tolerated’.
He ordered the destroyer be restored by June, but Admiral Kim and Hong Kil Ho were both noticeably absent from the relaunch ceremony.
In April Kim unveiled the nuclear-capable naval destroyer that he says will bolster North Korea ‘s ability to defend itself in the face of perceived aggression from the US and its regional allies.
The North Korean leader attended the warship’s launch ceremony at the western port of Nampo with his teenage daughter Kim Ju Ae, according to state-run media.
Ju Ae has been widely regarded by analysts as the likely successor to Kim since she was referred to as a ‘great person of guidance’ in an official report last year.
Kim said the 5,000-ton vessel would bolster efforts to expand the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military.
The ‘multi-purpose’ destroyer, designed to handle a variety of arms including nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles, was touted as the first in a new class of heavily armed warships.
Kim, who has framed the arms buildup as a response to the supposed danger posed by the US and its allies in Asia, said the destroyer would be handed over to the navy early next year before beginning active duty.
Jo Chun Ryong, a secretary in the ruling Workers’ party, claimed the ship was equipped with the ‘most powerful weapons’ and was built ‘within 400-odd days’.
Kim also took aim at efforts by the US and South Korea to expand joint military exercises and update their nuclear deterrence strategies, which he portrayed as preparations for war.
He vowed to ‘respond decisively to this geopolitical crisis and ongoing developments,’ the Korean Central News Agency reported.
