The motives behind the highly publicized execution of Jang Sung
Taek, the uncle of current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, have been open to
question, but a South Korean analyst said Jang's ambition to restore an old
power structure could have played a role in his death sentence.
Ko Soo-suk, a senior
researcher at the Unification Research Institute of JoongAng Ilbo, a South
Korean newspaper, wrote Jang was seeking the role of prime minister in the
North Korean Cabinet.
According to Ko, a North
Korean document on the judgment of death penalty for Jang, included a passage
on Jang's crimes against the state.
"Jang had a foolish
dream, and he took the first step to seize the position and status of prime
minister," the document read.
Unlike China, where the
prime minister is an influential player in economic policy, North Korea's prime
minister plays a largely ceremonial role and has low impact in governance, Ko
wrote.
Economic planning is the
task of a department in the Korean Workers' Party, and the prime minister
follows instructions from the Party.
Jang, who was a prominent
figure under former leader Kim Jong Il, often travelled to China and even to
South Korea to learn about economic policy and planning. Jang has often been
associated with economic reform, but in December 2013 was executed on charges
of treason and of being a "counterrevolutionary."
The prime minister position
Jang could have had in mind was the more influential version in place under
North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. Prime ministers under the late Kim were in
charge of economic policy and Jang would have been well-suited for a bigger
role involving growth and development.
Ko also stated in his analysis
that members of North Korea's core leadership, rather than Kim Jong Un, could
have thwarted Jang's ambition. Core leadership officials foiled attempts by
Jang to procure a meeting with Kim, who was away on a field guidance trip at a
critical time. While Kim was away, Ko wrote, core members could have been able
to enforce an order of execution for Jang.