Report of Purge of Kim Yong-chol Appears to Be False

I found the report of Kim Yong-chol being purged hard to believe considering he is the Butcher of the Cheonan which has been one of North Korea’s most successful operations in recent years:

Kim Yong-chol, in the white circle, watches an arts performance with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, fourth from left, in this photo released on Monday by the North’s Korean Central News Agency. The photo came amid rumors of him being purged after collapsed nuclear talks in Hanoi. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe’s performance, along with his top aides, including Kim Yong-chol, who was rumored to have been purged after the no-deal summit in Hanoi, Pyongyang’s media reported Monday.

The leader attended the show “given by amateur art groups of the wives of officers of units of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) selected in the seventh round of the second-term contest of art groups of KPA officers’ wives,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

He appeared with his wife Ri Sol-ju and other top officials, including Kim Yong-chol, the North’s counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in denuclearization negotiations with the U.S., the KCNA revealed.

Rumors have circulated that Kim Yong-chol might have been punished in the leader’s move to purge officials responsible for the no-deal summit with President Trump after the Chosun Ilbo, a major conservative newspaper, reported that Kim Yong-chol was punished with hard labor and another negotiator Kim Hyok-chol, a former North Korean envoy to the U.S. was executed citing anonymous sources last week.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

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setnaffa
setnaffa
5 years ago

The norks like trolling, too… Unless we have some way of knowing–not just being told–when the photo was taken, we still don’t know his state of health…

2ID Doc
2ID Doc
5 years ago

99% of these death reports come from ROK intelligence and 98% are wrong so perhaps commie moon pie needs to use that exclusive phone to call kim Fatty the third when ROK intelligence needs new info to give the media…

setnaffa
setnaffa
5 years ago

Agreed; but I don’t think Kim Fatt 3 is willing to play tiddlywinks with Moon until he figures out what Trump is up to with Iran.

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