North Korea has stepped up its executions, the top commander of US troops on the Korean Peninsula said on Monday, amid increasing strain on the its military from international economic sanctions. “We’re seeing some increase in executions, mostly against political officers who are in military units, for corruption,” General Vincent K Brooks, the top US commander in South Korea told the Wall Street Journal. He added that the actions “are really about trying to clamp down on as much as possible on something that might be deteriorating and keeping it from deteriorating too quickly.” In recent months the South Korean press has reported the possible execution of Park In-young, the official in charge of Pyongyang’s nuclear test facilities, and former military chief, General Hwang Pyong-so, who was accused of allegedly taking bribes. General Brooks also noted a recent shift in the pattern of defections from the North. “We’re seeing defections happening in areas where we don’t generally see the
