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North Korea Erases Executed Official From the Internet

Posted by Soulskill on from the personhood-redacted dept.

itwbennett writes "The North Korean state propaganda machine has edited and deleted hundreds of news articles that mention Jang Song Thaek, the former top government and party official and uncle to leader Kim Jong Un, who was executed Thursday. Earlier this week, Jang was arrested in front of hundreds of senior members of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea and denounced for numerous alleged acts against the state and Kim Jong Un. From arrest to trial to death took only four days and the unprecedented fall from grace is widely being interpreted as an attempt by Kim Jong Un to keep officials loyal and scared."

13 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Word unlocked. by SuricouRaven · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The term 'Orwellian' tends to be overused a bit these days. But, having read 1984, this is something straight out of that book. The adjective is appropriate in this situation: Go ahead and use it.

    1. Re:Word unlocked. by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's the North Korean Happy Fun Time Hour! Be sure to clap for Dear Leader very enthusiastically!

      You might be joking, but one of the accused's crimes was, in fact, to not clap enthusiastically enough. It's almost like they are trying to parody themselves.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:Word unlocked. by kallisti · · Score: 5, Informative

      In a book on the life of Shostakovich, there was an anecdote about Stalin giving a speech at a farm collective. After he finished, there was a thunderous applause that continued on and on for over half an hour. No one wanted to be known as the first one to stop clapping.

    3. Re:Word unlocked. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's the North Korean Happy Fun Time Hour! Be sure to clap for Dear Leader very enthusiastically!

      You might be joking, but one of the accused's crimes was, in fact, to not clap enthusiastically enough. It's almost like they are trying to parody themselves.

      Who got accused of what? You can't find any evidence of this supposed uncle on reputable web sites. Only tinfoil-hatted conspiracy theorists believe that Kim Jong-Un ever had an uncle!

    4. Re:Word unlocked. by arth1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He murdered his uncle for political reasons and doesn't want everyone to know about it, that kind of behaviour predates 1984 by several millennia.

      This is not insightful. He murdered his uncle and erased him from history, and very much wanted every North Korean politician, military and ambitious individual to know about it. It's a demonstration of utter ruthlessness designed to ensure obedience.

      When you work for a man capable of doing that to his own uncle, you tread lightly. And that's what he wants. He knows that you and everybody else knows the charges were false - he wants you to know that. But never say it. And if you're in North Korea, you won't.

    5. Re:Word unlocked. by arth1 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      He knows that you and everybody else knows the charges were false

      I'm with you on everything in your post but this. Were they false?

      Oh, yes, I am pretty sure they were false. And that the uncle was guilty of a great many things, but not those he were charged with.
      Kim Jong-Un's point wasn't to get him convicted for things he did - the point was to get him convicted, killed and erased on a whim. For that to be truly effective, Kim would need charges that were blatantly false, and some that weren't even against any laws. Which is exactly what he appears to have done.

      It's a truly despicable Machiavellan ploy. The consolation is that few excessively ruthless leaders tend to rule for very long.

    6. Re: Word unlocked. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      True, but give him a break. He's also the guy who killed Hitler

    7. Re:Word unlocked. by Nimey · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What makes you think that most people who invoke 1984 have even read it?

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
  2. History repeating itself? by aphelion_rock · · Score: 5, Informative

    "is widely being interpreted as an attempt by Kim Jong Un to keep officials loyal and scared."

    Sounds like Stalin all over again....

    "The purge was motivated by the desire to remove dissenters from the Communist Party and to consolidate the authority of Joseph Stalin. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge

  3. Re:Arrest To Death in 4 Days for J.S. Thaek by Jeremi · · Score: 5, Informative

    The moment guilt is obvious, what's the point of spending 15 years on death row and cost millions in tax dollars?

    I won't comment on North Korea, but in the USA there have been at least 311 cases where "guilt was obvious" but in fact the person had not committed the crime they were convicted of.

    If you're willing to accept that your proposal would cause the state-sponsored killing of hundreds of innocent people, okay, but you should say so explicitly.

    --


    I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
  4. Sympathy? by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This guy was one of the top brass in NK. Lets keep in mind how many millions of tortures and death he's likely responsible for. The worlds better off without him, and we can only hope NK becomes unstable soon. Those poor people that live there, my God. How can we still have such a place on this earth.

  5. How does that work? by Daetrin · · Score: 5, Informative

    How is he supposed to serve as a lesson to others if they're busy purging all records of him?

    "Remember what happened to Jang Song Thaek before you think about crossing me!"
    "Who? I don't remember him at all."
    "Exactly!"

    Sounds a bit more like bad comedy than a real threat.

    --
    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
  6. No fool by waimate · · Score: 5, Funny

    That Kim Jong Un is no fool. When executing relatives, always do it just *before* xmas, not *after*. That way you save on buying a present.