North Korea's Announcement That Kim Jong-Un's Uncle Has Been Executed Is Incredibly Vivid
The country's press reports describing his case have been unusually vivid.
We first highlighted this phenomenon when Jang was removed from office last weekend, having been accused of "dreaming different dreams" - an accusation you might find in a Ted Demme film.
The latest release regarding his execution contains more of these florid nuggets:
Upon being charged, North Koreans "broke into angry shouts" that a stern judgment ought to be, "meted out to the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional elements."
They would know satisfaction:
"Against the backdrop of these shouts rocking the country, a special military tribunal of the DPRK Ministry of State Security was held on December 12 against traitor for all ages Jang Song Thaek."
Jang was accused of possessing , "...a wild ambition to grab the supreme power of our party and state." He was found to be "...despicable human scum .... [who] worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader for him."
The military tribunal soon issued a judgment regarding Jang's crimes: death.
"Every sentence of the decision served as sledge-hammer blow brought down by our angry service personnel and people on the head of Jang, an anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional element and despicable political careerist and trickster."
Of course, these are translations, so just as much credit goes to the translators. And totalitarian prose has always deployed this kind of overwrought, baroque prose.
But the North Koreans seem to be unusually aggressive standard bearers.