North Korea Says Kim's Uncle Executed SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea announced early Friday it had executed the uncle and one-time mentor of its top leader Kim Jong-un, calling him a traitor. The announcement, reported by the official Korean Central News Agency, said the uncle, Jang Song-thaek, was put to death on Thursday after a special military trial. The execution came less than a week after Mr. Jang, who was more than twice Mr. Kim's age, was dismissed from the ruling party and arrested in a surprise purge that unnerved neighbors of North Korea, one of the world's most hermetic and secretive countries.