New report says in 5 years, Kim Jong Un has executed 340 people

Kim Jong Un.
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Since coming to power in 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the executions of 340 people, a South Korean think tank says.

In a new report released Thursday, the Institute for National Security Strategy goes into detail about the purge that has been taking place over the past five years. Hawaii Pacific University professor Seung-Kyun Ko told CNN that Kim Jong Un is "a bit extreme" when it comes to perceived threats because as the son of the late Kim Jong Il, he was "spoiled," and "the major danger is there is no one in his leadership circle to restrain him." Of the 340 people killed, 140 were senior officers in the ruling Korean Worker's Party, which runs the country's government and military.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.