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South Korean Leader Warns of Possible ‘Provocations’ From North South Korean Leader Warns of Possible ‘Provocations’ From North
(about 9 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — President Park Geun-hye on Monday ordered the South Korean military and police to increase their vigilance, especially along the disputed western sea border with North Korea, warning that Pyongyang might attempt armed provocations following the recent purge and execution of Jang Song-thaek, who was believed to have been the North’s second most powerful official. SEOUL, South Korea — President Park Geun-hye ordered the South Korean military and police on Monday to increase vigilance, especially along the disputed western sea border with North Korea. She warned that the North might attempt armed provocations after the recent purge and execution of Jang Song-thaek, who was believed to have been the North’s second most powerful official.
“Given the recent series of incidents in North Korea, there is uncertainty over the direction in which the political situation there will develop,” Ms. Park’s office quoted her as saying during a meeting with senior aides. “We cannot rule out contingencies like reckless provocations from the North.”“Given the recent series of incidents in North Korea, there is uncertainty over the direction in which the political situation there will develop,” Ms. Park’s office quoted her as saying during a meeting with senior aides. “We cannot rule out contingencies like reckless provocations from the North.”
Ms. Park’s warning over what she called “the gravity and unpredictability of the current situation” came as officials and analysts in the region were scrambling to determine what Mr. Jang’s execution might mean for the stability, internal politics and foreign policy of North Korea, an opaque, nuclear-armed regime with an inexperienced leader, Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be 30 years old. Ms. Park’s warning over what she called “the gravity and unpredictability of the current situation” came as officials and analysts in the region were scrambling to determine what Mr. Jang’s execution might mean for the stability, internal politics and foreign policy of North Korea, an opaque, nuclear-armed nation with an inexperienced leader, Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be 30 years old.
Mr. Jang, who was Mr. Kim’s uncle and had been regarded as his mentor, was executed on Thursday after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government. His downfall was startling not only because of who he was, but because of the unusually public way in which he was purged. Mr. Jang, who was Mr. Kim’s uncle and had been regarded as a mentor, was executed on Thursday after being accused of plotting to overthrow the government. His downfall was startling not only because of who he was, but also because of the unusually public way in which he was purged.
Abandoning its traditional secrecy over internal politics, the regime prominently detailed Mr. Jang’s alleged corruption and political ambitions in state news reports. It also showed no qualms about demonstrating brutality: It released photos of Mr. Kim at a court-martial bearing what appeared to be marks of torture, including a bruised and swollen eyelid. Abandoning its traditional secrecy over internal politics, the North prominently detailed Mr. Jang’s alleged corruption and political ambitions in state news reports. It also showed no qualms about demonstrating brutality: It released photos of Mr. Jang at a court-martial bearing what appeared to be marks of torture, including a bruised and swollen eyelid.
The court verdict condemned Mr. Jang as “human scum” and “worse than a dog,” citing among many other offenses his purported failure to applaud as enthusiastically as others did during a 2010 meeting at which Mr. Kim was elected to a party post. The North’s state-run news media called for “shredding the traitor to pieces and throwing him into boiling water.”The court verdict condemned Mr. Jang as “human scum” and “worse than a dog,” citing among many other offenses his purported failure to applaud as enthusiastically as others did during a 2010 meeting at which Mr. Kim was elected to a party post. The North’s state-run news media called for “shredding the traitor to pieces and throwing him into boiling water.”
A weekend editorial in a conservative South Korean daily, Chosun Ilbo, compared Mr. Jang’s purge to “a beast being dragged into a slaughterhouse.”A weekend editorial in a conservative South Korean daily, Chosun Ilbo, compared Mr. Jang’s purge to “a beast being dragged into a slaughterhouse.”
Some analysts saw the dramatic developments as Mr. Kim’s attempt to intimidate potential opponents and declare himself the North’s unchallenged leader on the eve of the second anniversary Tuesday of the death of his father, the longtime dictator Kim Jong-il. Mr. Jang would have been one of Mr. Kim’s last potential rivals for power, they said.Some analysts saw the dramatic developments as Mr. Kim’s attempt to intimidate potential opponents and declare himself the North’s unchallenged leader on the eve of the second anniversary Tuesday of the death of his father, the longtime dictator Kim Jong-il. Mr. Jang would have been one of Mr. Kim’s last potential rivals for power, they said.
But other analysts suspected that Mr. Jang’s public purge could be a sign of instability within the regime, and South Korean officials feared that Mr. Kim, or hard-line generals, might attempt an armed provocation in order to raise tensions with the outside world and strengthen internal unity. North Korea justified Mr. Jang’s execution by accusing him of a number of crimes that analysts said were growing problems in the North: drug abuse, corruption and factional infighting. The accusation of plotting a military coup suggested, probably unintentionally, that there were cracks in the country’s monolithic elite and Mr. Kim’s grip on power.
On Monday, the North Korean People’s Army, the backbone of Mr. Kim’s rule, reaffirmed its loyalty to him at a huge rally in the capital, Pyongyang, outside the mausoleum that holds the remains of his father and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. Vice Marshall Choe Ryong-hae read a statement of allegiance at the rally and warned the army to remain vigilant because “a war comes without an advertisement.”
South Korean officials said they were worried that Mr. Kim or his hard-line generals, might attempt an armed provocation in order to raise tensions with the outside world and strengthen internal unity.
While telling lawmakers in Seoul about Mr. Jang’s purge two weeks ago, the National Intelligence Service of South Korea said that Pyongyang had moved more attack helicopters and multitube rocket launchers near the disputed western sea border, which remains the most volatile section of the two Koreas’ heavily armed frontier. The waters around the contested sea border have been the scene of a number of military skirmishes in recent decades, including a North Korean artillery assault on a South Korean island in 2010 and a South Korean counterattack.While telling lawmakers in Seoul about Mr. Jang’s purge two weeks ago, the National Intelligence Service of South Korea said that Pyongyang had moved more attack helicopters and multitube rocket launchers near the disputed western sea border, which remains the most volatile section of the two Koreas’ heavily armed frontier. The waters around the contested sea border have been the scene of a number of military skirmishes in recent decades, including a North Korean artillery assault on a South Korean island in 2010 and a South Korean counterattack.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that soldiers had rallied in Pyongyang to pledge their loyalty to Mr. Kim. Photos showed columns of soldiers filling the plaza in front of the Kumsusan mausoleum, where Mr. Kim’s father and his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, lie embalmed.

An earlier version of this article referred incorrectly to photographs of a court-martial that were released by North Korea. They showed Jang Song-thaek with a bruised and swollen eyelid, not Kim Jong-un.