韓國稱朝鮮處決內閣副總理金勇進

North Korea has executed a vice-premier and banished two other senior officials to the countryside for re-education, according to Seoul, in the latest high-level purge under Pyongyang’s young leader, Kim Jong Un.

據首爾方面消息，朝鮮內閣副總理被處決，兩名高級官員被下放到農村接受再教育。這是平壤年輕的領導人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)任內的最新一次高層清洗。

Mr Kim has relied on executions and purges of high-ranking officials to protect his authority since taking power on his father’s death in December 2011.

金正恩自2011年12月父親去世後上臺以來，一直靠處決和清洗高級官員來維護自己的權威。

Seoul’s unification ministry confirmed yesterday the execution of Kim Yong-jin, vice-premier for education.

韓國統一部昨日證實主管教育的朝鮮副總理金勇進(Kim Yong jin)被處決。

The ministry added that Kim Yong-chol, head of the North’s United Front Department handling inter-Korean relations, was undergoing revolutionary measures while Choe Hwi, another ruling party official in the propaganda department, was reprimanded.

韓國統一部還稱負責處理朝韓關係的朝鮮統一戰線部(United Front Department)部長金英哲(Kim Yong chol)正在接受革命再教育，朝鮮勞動黨中央宣傳部第一副部長崔輝(Choe Hwi)也在接受革命再教育。

It is hard to independently verify what is happening in the secretive state, with some previous intelligence reports about purges proving inaccurate.

外界很難獨立證實這一神祕國度里正在發生什麼事情，此前部分有關清洗的情報被證明不準確。

But the latest reported incidents show that Mr Kim’s reign of terror continues as the young leader strengthens his grip on power.

但最新報道的這些事件表明金正恩的恐怖統治仍在繼續，這位年輕領導人仍在加強他對權力的掌控。

The North has seen a broader and severe churn of its senior ranks, with roughly half of the top 218 military and bureaucratic officials replaced within two years of his taking power, according to South Korean estimates.

朝鮮高級官員已出現大規模洗牌。據韓國估計，金正恩上臺後的兩年時間裏，218名軍方和政府最高級官員中約有一半遭到更換。

The reign of terror including executions of senior officials is a key characteristic of the Stalinist dictatorship to maintain its absolute control.

韓國世宗研究院(Sejong Institute)研究員鄭成長(Cheong Seong-chang)表示：這種包括處決高級官員的恐怖統治，是以斯大林式獨裁維持絕對控制的一個重要特徵。

The strategy will continue as long as the Kim Jong Un regime continues, said Cheong Seong-chang, researcher at the Sejong Institute.

只要金正恩政權繼續統治，這種策略就將繼續下去。

Vice-premier Kim, 63, was executed by firing squad in July for an anti-party and anti-revolutionary element, according to a unification ministry official.

據韓國統一部一名官員表示，現年63歲的朝鮮內閣副總理金勇進，今年7月以反黨反革命罪被行刑隊處決。

Army general Kim Yong-chol, 70, was sent to a rural farm for re-education for a month from mid-July for his heavy-handed attitude, but has been reinstated, the official said.

這名韓國官員還表示，現年70歲的金英哲將軍因濫權，從7月中旬起被下放到農場接受一個月的再教育，但已官復原職。