North Korea Executes Kim Relative-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.86]this is In the News. [00:08.96]This week, North Korea [00:11.11]executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un. [00:15.57]The official Korean Central News Agency said [00:19.54]Jang Song Thaek was put to death on Thursday [00:23.55]after facing a special military court. [00:27.20]It said Jang was found guilty of attempting [00:31.05]to overthrow the state, party and leadership. [00:35.50]He was also accused of womanizing and drug abuse. [00:40.95]The announcement came just days after Jang Song Thaek [00:45.71]was publicly ousted from power [00:48.38]for suspected disloyalty and corruption. [00:52.48]Korean Central Television broadcast images of his arrest [00:57.34]on Sunday at a meeting of the Korean Workers' Party. [01:01.94]On Friday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper [01:07.25]published pictures of Jang at the military trial. [01:11.67]They showed him lowering his head, [01:14.32]with guards on both sides. [01:16.86]Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean history [01:22.02]at Kookmin University in South Korea. [01:25.67]He says ousters, or purges, [01:28.97]of North Korean officials are not uncommon. [01:32.97]But he says the level of publicity in this case is unusual. [01:39.12]"In the past, hundreds or maybe even thousands [01:42.22]of high level officials have been purged. [01:45.42]Some of them executed. [01:47.02]Some of them were sent to exile or prison. [01:49.98]However, with very few exceptions in most areas, [01:54.68]purges have always been fixed. [01:57.28]Unlike say the Soviet Union under Stalin, [02:00.44]when they remove the high level official, [02:03.06]they usually did not make it public. [02:06.81]When they did, it was never on such a scale." [02:11.56]Leonid Petrov is a Korea expert [02:14.96]with the Australian National University. [02:17.96]He questions whether Jang Song Thaek [02:21.31]was actually plotting to overthrow the government. [02:25.11]"I think this has nothing to do with what really happened. [02:27.46]Jang Song Thaek was a loyal member of Kim's regime. [02:32.92]He was appointed by Kim Jong Il to supervise his son. [02:36.84]Jang Song Thaek was doing everything possible [02:39.18]to promote Kim Jong Un's image." [02:42.54]Leonid Petrov says a personal or family dispute [02:47.29]could have led to the execution. [02:49.74]But he says it is also clear [02:52.59]that Mr. Kim considered his uncle a threat. [02:56.55]And he says the North Korean leader felt the need [03:00.65]to send a message that he is in complete control. [03:05.13]"The elites are scared to death at the moment. [03:08.03]And the grassroots population of North Korea [03:10.94]also gets the message that it is Kim Jong Un [03:13.79]who is in the driving seat. [03:14.89]They must follow his orders, [03:16.79]and there's simply no alternative [03:18.85]or any place for dissent in North Korea." [03:22.05]Mr. Jang was quietly ousted from power not once, [03:26.54]but two times under the former North Korean leader. [03:30.35]But he regained power with the help of his wife Kim Kyong Hui, [03:36.21]the sister of the former leader. [03:38.46]Much of North Korea's central leadership [03:42.26]is from the rule of Kim Jong Il. [03:45.21]Many officials are in their 60s or 70s. [03:49.47]This has led some observers to debate the level [03:54.27]of their support for 30-year-old Kim Jong Un. [03:58.62]Mr. Kim took power two years ago. [04:02.13]Since then, [04:03.25]he has replaced more than 40 percent of high level officials, [04:08.85]and built his rule with a younger generation loyal to him. [04:14.25]There were no signs of unrest in North Korea following the execution. [04:20.15]But the South Korean Defense Ministry said [04:23.50]it was closely watching the North Korean military [04:27.47]for aggressive movements. [04:29.77]On Friday, the office of South Korea's president [04:33.92]held a national security meeting [04:36.91]to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula. [04:41.32]A Unification Ministry official said [04:44.67]South Korea is watching the events with concern. [04:48.98]And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English. [04:54.94]I'm Steve Ember.