North Korea executes officials over failed Trump-Kim talks: report
North Korea executed its former top nuclear envoy to the U.S. and four other foreign ministry officials in March after a failed summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported, citing South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper.
Kim Hyok Chol, who led working-level negotiations for the February summit in Hanoi, was executed by firing squad after being charged with espionage after allegedly being co-opted by the U.S., the newspaper said Friday, citing an unidentified source. The move was part of an internal purge Kim undertook after the summit broke down without any deal, it said.
Speculation has swirled for months about the fate of Kim Hyok Chol, who hasn’t received any recent mentions in state media dispatches. Previous South Korean media reports about senior North Korean officials being executed following the talks have proven false.
Kim Jong Un’s top aide Kim Yong Chol, who was also involved in the summit, is reportedly undergoing hard labor, according to the Chosun Ilbo report.
Talks between the U.S. and North Korea have stalled since the Vietnam summit, with no plans to get them back underway. Stephen Biegun, the Trump administration’s nuclear envoy to North Korea, plans to meet with Japanese and South Korean negotiators this weekend in Singapore.
The February summit collapsed abruptly, with Trump calling off the talks. Analysts said Kim Jong Un may have overplayed his hand by seeking too much sanctions relief and offering too few nuclear disarmament steps in return.
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