(PHOTO: Kim Hyok Chol, left, and Kim Yong Chol at Beijing airport on Jan. 17, 2019, KYODO NEWS)
Donald Trump appears to believe it is fun to yuk around with North Korea, but North Korea does not yuk around.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to be carrying out a massive purge to divert attention away from internal turmoil and discontent, reports Korean paper Chosun.
“Kim Hyok Chol was investigated and executed at Mirim Airport with four foreign ministry officials in March,” the paper reports.
The reportedly deceased Kim Hyok Chol was the nation's special envoy to the United States. He would have been killed, then, very shortly after that February Trump-Kim summit that fell apart to the embarrassment of all concerned.
The executed men were responsible for negotiations that led to that second U.S.-North Korea summit in February.
Kim Jong Un's regime also held these people responsible for the collapse of talks with Trump.
Shinhye Kang reporting for Bloomberg:
Kim Hyok Chol, who led working-level negotiations for the summit in Hanoi between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in February, was executed with four other North Korean foreign ministry officials in March, Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source.
Kim Jong Un’s top aide Kim Yong Chol is reportedly undergoing hard labor, according to the South Korean newspaper report.
JUST IN: North Korea envoy executed over failed Trump-Kim summit (Chosun)
— David Ingles (@DavidInglesTV) May 30, 2019
More details from Chosun Ilbo newspaper which cited unidentified sources:
Kim Hyok Chol, along with four other officials, were executed in March. Meanwhile, Kim Yong Chol (Kim Jong Un's top aide) is reportedly undergoing hard labor
— David Ingles (@DavidInglesTV) May 30, 2019