A senior North Korean military leader has been executed for "factionalism, misuse of authority and corruption," a South Korean government official with knowledge of North Korean affairs told CNN Thursday.
The official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, declined to give further details on how or when Gen. Ri Yong-gil,
chief of the North Korean Army's general staff, was executed.
Ri was appointed to the position in 2013, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
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One source told Yonhap that Ri was executed last week.
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His execution is the latest in a string of high-profile officials that have been purged in a dramatic fashion.
Ri appears to be one of the most senior officials executed to date, according to a U.S. defense official. The official said the execution continues a brutal consolidation of power by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
David Kang, a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, told CNN the move is a show of strength.
"It is another way for Kim Jong Un to show he is in power. He is still young, and still learning who is on his side and who is not," said Kang. "The people who are on the wrong side become disposable."
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