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More key officials fleeing N. Korea amid leader’s brutal rule: source

November 23, 2015
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of a ski resort being built on Masik Pass. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of a ski resort being built on Masik Pass. (KCNA/Yonhap)

By Brian Han

North Korea’s top government and military officials are fleeing from their own country mostly due to Kim Jong-un’s reign of terror.

It should come as no surprise considering that any form of dissent whether it may be vocally opposing the young leader’s policies to falling asleep in cabinet meetings have led to mysterious disappearances and even public executions.

That figure has reached 70 deaths according to South Korea’s intelligence agency during Kim Jong-un’s tenure dating back to December of 2011 when he succeeded his father Kim Jong-il.

Defectors have always been an ongoing issue for the communist nation, but the reasons are changing.

It’s less about finding better opportunities elsewhere or reuniting with families and more directly related to Kim Jong-un’s brutal ruling style.

“Apparently, Kim seems to be consolidating his power, but the real situation is that the North is not stable,” a source told Yonhap News.

Much of that has to do with the nickname the country has earned itself as the Hermit Kingdom.

Under its current leader, that image has become amplified especially in the midst of a nuclear weapons development program that North Korea refuses to shut down despite the deterioration of international relations.

What has resulted is a heavily weakened economy, and compounded with a recent drought that was the worst the country had experienced in a century, its people are suffering as well.

Military and government officials plan to hold a full congressional hearing for the first time in three years to try and tackle some of these problems, but it is still unsure if any effective strategies will be brought to the table

“If the regime is not able to satisfy North Koreans, their disappointment will likely be amplified,” the source said.