Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea’s special envoy to the United States, was supposedly executed by firing squad for his failure with nuclear negotiations, but sources say he is actually alive and in state custody.
South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported Friday that Kim Hyok Chol had been put to death and that Kim Yong Chol, a top official and former spy chief, was purged over the failed negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea.
The report was called into question after North Korean media said Kim Yong Chol attended an art performance with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN that “the news was wrong” and that Kim Hyok Chol was alive but could face “heavy punishment.” Kim Yong Chol has reportedly had his power in the government greatly diminished since the failed Hanoi summit and is being “kept silently in his office writing statements of self-criticism.”
President Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam’s capital in February to discuss efforts for North Korean denuclearization, but the meeting ended abruptly after an agreement could not be reached. Since that time North Korea has escalated tensions in the region, with the hermit nation conducting a short-range missile test last month.
