North Korea has publicly executed its defense minister Hyon Yong Chol on treason charges.

Yonhap, a South Korean media outlet citing Seoul’s National Intelligence Services reported on Wednesday that Yong Chol was executed by firing-squad with an anti-aircraft gun in front of hundreds of people.

The execution comes after South Korea’s spy agency said late last month that Kim ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as penalty for challenging his authority.
Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership and contributor to the 38 North think tank said that “North Korean internal politics is very volatile these days,”
He said “Internally, there does not seem to be any respect for Kim Jong Un within the core and middle levels of the North Korean leadership,”
“There is no clear or present danger to Kim Jong Un’s leadership or stability in North Korea, but if this continues to happen into next year, then we would seriously have to start looking at a contingency plan for the Korean peninsula” Madden said.

Kim Jong Un had executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek on treason charges in 2013.