Four soldiers executed for taking part in Hyesan Incident
A Daily NK source in Yanggang Province has reported that two border guard officers and two rank-and-file soldiers implicated in the recent smuggling case that prompted a lockdown on the city of Hyesan were recently executed by firing squad.
In a telephone conversation with Daily NK on Friday, the source said the “commander, political officer and two soldiers” of the Border Security Command’s 25th Brigade, 251st Regiment, Fourth Battalion, Third Company were shot on Nov. 22. The execution was “carried out at Ryonbong Airfield under the direction of Ministry of State Security officials who came from Pyongyang,” the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The timing of the execution is noteworthy. The men were shot just a day after the lockdown on Hyesan was lifted on Nov. 21, indicating just how seriously authorities are taking the matter.
North Korean authorities reportedly discussed the Hyesan Incident after Ri Pyong Chol, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Hyesan last week.
The authorities disbanded the company implicated in the Hyesan smuggling case on Nov. 23 and transferred the regiment it was a part of to Yonggwang County, South Hamgyong Province. There are also rumors that the authorities will be cycling out a large number of troops from the area to other places in the country. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
