North Korea executed a former Cabinet official who was in charge of talks with South Korea, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Kwon Ho Ung — Pyongyang's chief delegate from 2004 to 2007 for ministerial talks with the South's then liberal government — was executed by firing squad, Seoul's mass-circulation Dong-a Ilbo newspaper said, citing an unidentified source in Beijing knowledgeable about the North.
Calls to South Korea's intelligence agency and the Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, seeking comment went unanswered.
The reported execution comes as tensions between the two Koreas simmer over the March sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on North Korea.
North Korea has denied involvement in the sinking, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.
Relations between the Koreas have been particularly rocky since a pro-U.S., conservative government took office in Seoul in early 2008 with a tough policy on Pyongyang.
Policy blunders
The newspaper report said it had not confirmed when and where Kwon was executed. The allegation follows other reported executions of North Korean officials for policy blunders.
In March, the North executed two senior economic officials over a botched currency revamp that forced markets to close temporarily and fueled social tensions, according to Daily NK, a Seoul-based media outlet that specializes in the North.
The North redenominated its currency, the won, in December as part of efforts to fight inflation and reassert control over its burgeoning market economy. That reportedly sparked unrest after many North Koreans were stuck with piles of worthless bills.
It is not unprecedented for the communist regime to execute officials for policy failures.
In the 1990s, North Korea publicly executed a top agricultural official following widespread famine.
North Korea is regarded as having one of the worst human rights records, characterized by public executions, camps for political prisoners and torture.
North Korea claims it has no human right problems and treats outside criticism of the issue as a thinly veiled attack on the regime.