Purge a sign North Korea may be heading for ‘Cultural Revolution’
Japan's defence chief likens Kim Jong-un uncle’s fall to political turbulence in China’s reform movement
The recent purge of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s once-powerful uncle could herald a period of radical upheaval comparable to China’s Cultural Revolution, Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera said on Thursday.
Pyongyang confirmed Monday that Jang Song-Thaek, once seen as the power behind the throne, had dramatically fallen from grace, with state TV airing humiliating images of him being dragged away by uniformed officers.
“After seeing the footage of Mr Jang Song-Thaek being arrested, it reminded me of scenes one might have seen during the era of China’s Cultural Revolution,” Onodera said in a speech given at a private think tank in Tokyo.
“North Korea might become a more radical place in the future … that is my concern,” he said.
The official news agency KCNA accused Jang, the uncle by marriage and one-time regent for the young Kim, of being a corrupt, drug-taking womaniser bent on building his own faction in the ruling party.
