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According to a Seoul-based NGO, since last year, many North Korean officials opposed to Kim Jong-un's foreign policy have been purged.
With our correspondent in Seoul , Frédéric Ojardias
About 70 North Korean officials were executed or jailed last year according to a report released by the NGO North Korea Strategy Center. The report brings together the testimony of some 20 senior North Korean officials, some of whom are still in post.
These purges seek to confiscate the savings of corrupt apparatchiks, while sanctions dry up the finances of the regime. They also target opponents of recent diplomatic openness efforts towards the United States and South Korea.
" Kim Jong-un is trying to break with the policies of his predecessors, Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il. Those who oppose it are members of the elite, who are afraid of losing their power because of these changes, "said Ruby Woo, NGO representative.
Mainly targeted military
" We think that their disagreement is due to a feeling of insecurity. The majority of them are military. Ordinary people do not get much information about Kim Jong-un's foreign policy, so they are not in a position to oppose it, "says Woo.
The NGO North Korea Strategy Center believes that we should not see in these purges a sign of instability and that Kim Jong-un firmly maintains its grip on power. The North Korean leader seems to have his hands free to lead the diplomacy of his choice, despite internal resistance. He is currently in Hanoi, Vietnam for the second summit with US President Donald Trump .