MOSCOW, December 9 (RAPSI) - Jang Song Thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and formerly believed to have been the second most powerful man in the country, was stripped of his official positions and expelled from the country’s ruling party during a politburo meeting Sunday, Reuters reported Monday citing official North Korean news agency KCNA.
The laundry list of charges levied against him included mismanagement of the economy, corruption, womanizing, and drug-taking, Reuters reported, adding that in addition to having been airbrushed out of official footage – his name can no longer be searched on the KCNA website.
Reuters quoted KCNA as having reported: "Jang and his followers committed criminal acts baffling imagination and they did tremendous harm to our party and revolution."
KCNA reportedly went on to flesh out some of the allegations against the ousted uncle, stating: "Jang pretended to uphold the party and leader but was engrossed in such factional acts (such) as dreaming different dreams and involving himself in double-dealing behind the scene… Affected by the capitalist way of living, Jang committed irregularities and corruption and led a dissolute and depraved life."
Reuters cited a South Korean official in reporting that Jang is likely alive and not in any immediate danger.