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.