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Seoul: The headless body of Kim Jong-un’s executed uncle was shown to senior North Korean officials, US President Donald Trump told the author of an upcoming book on the US president.
Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle by marriage and an enormously powerful figure within the regime, was purged for treason and corruption in 2013, in what was widely seen as Kim ruthlessly asserting his authority.
Kim “tells me everything. He told me everything, ”Trump told Washington Post investigative journalist Bob Woodward, according to his forthcoming book Rage.
“He killed his uncle and put the body on the steps,” Trump said, in an apparent reference to a building used by senior officials.
“And they cut off his head, sitting on his chest,” he added in excerpts from the book seen by AFP.
North Korea never said how Jang was executed, although reports say an anti-aircraft weapon was used.
Trump’s account, apparently intended to demonstrate his close relationship with Kim, is the first by a senior official to mention the beheading.
Nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since the collapse of the Hanoi summit last year over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
Pyongyang officials said they had offered to “dismantle all nuclear production facilities in the Yongbyon area,” but analysts say North Korea has several other nuclear sites.
According to the book, Trump demanded that five sites be abandoned.
“Listen, one doesn’t help and two don’t help and three don’t help and four don’t help. Five do help, ”he said.
Yongbyon was the largest site in the North, Kim replied according to excerpts from the book seen by AFP.
“He’s also the oldest,” Trump told the author who responded.
Kim offered no further concessions and Trump said: “He’s not ready to make a deal. I have to go, ”he said, to Kim’s surprise. – AFP
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