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N. Korean leader's uncle likely ousted, allies executed
12/3/2013 4:55:13 PM
- Jang Sung-taek was the vice chairman of North Korea's top military body
- Some have said he may have been at the heart of an internal palace struggle
- If confirmed, the move would mark a major upheaval in North Korea's leadership
- Two of Jang's close allies have been publicly executed, a South Korean lawmaker says
(CNN) -- It's "very likely" that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful uncle, Jang Sung-taek, has been removed from his top-level position in government, two South Korean lawmakers said Tuesday, citing a briefing from their county's intelligence service.
And two close allies of Jang -- Lee Yong-ha and Jang Soo-kee -- have been publicly executed, one of the South Korean lawmakers said at a news conference.
The lawmakers, including Cho Won-jin of the governing Saenuri Party, said this after receiving what they said was a briefing from South Korea's National Intelligence Service.
CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report.
Jang Sung-taek was the brother-in-law of North Korea's previous ruler and Kim's father, Kim Jong Il. When the elder Kim died and the son succeeded him, analysts told CNN that Jang would be a power behind the throne as the younger Kim took control of the reclusive nation.
If confirmed, the move would mark a major upheaval in North Korea's leadership since Kim succeeded his father, who died in in 2011.
Jang was the vice chairman of North Korea's top military body and has often been pictured beside Kim.
Some have said he may have been at the heart of an internal palace struggle, one which might have put him even at odds with his own wife, Kim Kyong Hui, according to a Time magazine report two years ago.
It has previously been reported that Kim Il Sung -- father of Kim Jong Il and architect of the North Korean state -- disapproved of Jang's marriage into the family, according to Time.
North Korea, a state shrouded in secrecy, is involved in a protracted standoff with its neighbors and Western powers over its nuclear weapons program.
Tensions between North and South Korea soared this year as Pyongyang reacted angrily to tightened United Nations sanctions imposed in response to its latest nuclear test.
The two sides are still technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a mere truce, not a treaty.
CNN's Judy Kwon in Hong Kong and journalist Yoonjung Seo in Seoul contributed to this report.
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