A close confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Kim Hyok-Chol, was surprisingly on the side of the dictator yesterday. On Friday there were reports that the former intelligence chief had been executed or sent to a labor camp.
Kim Hyok-chol was not among the named participants at the music event on Sunday. The North Korean state media have not yet reported on an execution or a punishment of Kim confidant. His fate is still unclear.
South Korean reports are not always correct
Kim Hyok-chol was shot dead after his return in March at Mirim airport in Pyongyang, the South Korean daily „Chosun Ilbo“ had reported on Friday, citing unspecified sources. In the past, reports of „purges“ within the North Korean hierarchy had repeatedly turned out to be wrong.
Kim Hyok-chol, along with US envoy Stephen Biegun, had prepared a meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. At the end of February, the summit in Vietnam had been broken off without result. Trump justified this with insufficient concessions by Kim in atomic disarmament.
