Kim Jong-un's uncle 'executed for trying to control coal trade'
Jang's business ambitions played a big part in his downfall, says South's intelligence chief
The shock purge and execution of the North Korean leader's uncle stemmed from his attempts to take control of the country's lucrative coal export business, South Korea's spy chief told lawmakers yesterday.
Jang Song-thaek, the once-powerful uncle and political regent to young leader Kim Jong-un, was executed on December 12 on charges that included plotting a coup and corruption.
The execution, the biggest political upheaval since Kim took power two years ago, sparked speculation that Jang had lost out in a power struggle with hardline army generals.
But Nam Jae-joon, the head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, said Jang's attempts to secure control of state-run natural resources businesses played a big part in his downfall.
Jang for years handled the country's mineral exports, which go mostly to China.
Nam, briefing members of parliament's intelligence committee on the situation in the North, also said the young ruler "appears to have no problem" in his grip on power, but may stage armed provocations against the South sometime between January and March to rally domestic unity.
"Jang intervened too much in lucrative state businesses ... related to coal, which drew mounting complaints from other [related] state bodies," lawmaker Jung Chung-rae said Nam told them at the closed hearing.