North Korea announces execution of leader's "traitor" uncle

(AFP) North Korea said Friday it has executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong-Un, branding veteran fixer Jang Song-Thaek a "traitor for all ages", as the US and South Korea voiced concern at the shock purge.

In a stunning downfall, Jang - who had been seen as Kim's political regent and the country's unofficial number two - was executed on Thursday immediately after a special military trial, according to state news agency KCNA.

In a viciously worded attack it said he committed such a "hideous crime as attempting to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state."

The report portrayed Jang as decadent and corrupt, "stretching his tentacles" into every area of national affairs. In a rare admission of economic strife, it also blamed him for the failings of the hungry and impoverished nation.

Jang, 67, played a key role in cementing the leadership of the inexperienced Kim when he succeeded his father Kim Jong-Il in 2011, but analysts said his power and influence had become increasingly resented.

State media showed a stooped and handcuffed Jang being led away from the military trial, flanked by two officers, one of whom had a hand on the back of his neck.

"Extreme brutality of the North Korean regime"

"If confirmed, this is another example of the extreme brutality of the North Korean regime," US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said, adding that Washington was following developments closely.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has accused Kim Jong-Un of resorting to a "reign of terror" to cement his leadership. On Friday, Seoul's Unification Ministry expressed "deep concerns" about the developments in Pyongyang.

South Korea will prepare fully for "all possibilities in the future" while coordinating closely with its allies, a ministry statement said.

Japan's defence minister also warned this week that the purge could herald upheaval comparable to China's disastrous Cultural Revolution.

The Kim family has ruled the North for six decades with an iron fist, regularly purging those showing the slightest sign of dissent. Most are executed or sent to prison camps, but the nation has not seen such a high-level execution for decades.

The regime accused Jang of betraying the trust of both Kim Jong-Un, who is aged around 30, and his father - saying he had received "deeper trust" from the younger leader in particular.

Since the death of his father in late 2010, five out of seven leaders who joined the young leader in marching alongside his father's hearse at the funeral - a core leadership group dubbed "the Gang of Seven" by South Korean media - have now been sidelined.