North Korea 'executes vice premier over forestry dispute'

SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA: The head of North Korean delegation, Choe Yong-Gon (L), deputy minister of construction and building material industries, shakes hands with South Korean counterpart Bahk Byo

Choe Yong Gon executed for voicing frustration at the policies of leader Kim Jong-un, says South Korea news agency

North Korea's vice-premier has reportedly been executed by firing squad after voicing discontent with the forestry policies of Kim Jong Un, the country's young dictator.

Choe Yong Gon, 63, was killed after less than a year in his job, South Korean media reported, the latest casualty in a series of high-level purges within the isolated communist nation.

North Korean has not officially confirmed the execution, reported to have taken place in May, but Choe has not been seen in public since December and Pyongyang announced his replacement in July.

Reports of Choe's death come close on the heels of the execution of Hyon Yong Chol, the defence minister, who was reportedly blown apart by an anti-aircraft gun in April after falling asleep at a military parade.

He is said to have been killed in front of a large crowd of government officials as a way of setting an example to Kim's other subordinates.

The dictator's uncle, Jang Song Thaek, was killed in 2013 after being described as "despicable human scum" by state media and charged with treason and corruption.

Unlike other purges, which happen in secret, Jang's death was publicly trumpeted by the North Korean regime, which accused him of having "perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery".

Dozens of other officials are believed to have been killed since Kim took power following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il in 2011.

Choe is reported to have taken office in June last year.

He once led the North Korean delegation in economic co-operation talks with South Korea. He was also a former member of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North Korean parliament.

South Korea's ministry of unification, which is responsible for relations with its neighbour, said it was "closely monitoring the possibility of any changes in Choe's circumstances".

Reports of executions in North Korea are sometimes attributed to South Korean intelligence officials but often rely on anonymous sources.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said someone "with knowledge of the North" had reported Choe's execution.

The North Korean government is a labyrinth of overlapping committees and Choe is believed to have been one of at least seven vice-premiers.