The North Korean dictator followed up his slaying of a defence chief by anti-aircraft missile with another purge of military top brass – this time for not giving soldiers more food.
In the latest cull, vice armed forces minister So Hong-chan – and several others ‘close to him’ – were killed for not following orders.
Observers believe So has been taken out because he was not seen during Kim’s visit to the Kumsusan Place of the Sun to see the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather.
So was seen with Kim on earlier visits to the memorial.
He was last seen publicly during one of Kim’s ‘field guidance’ visits, where the dictator offers advice to his people.
Senior military officials are said to have been punished for their failure to increase the rice allowance for the nation’s soldiers.
Observers are unclear if it is due to a power struggle with the army top brass, or the dictator ‘flexing his muscles’.
His behaviour, even by his mercurial standards, has been bizarre in recent days.