Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hyon Yong-chol spoke at an international security conference in Moscow last month 
 
 North Korea's Defence Minister Hyon Yong-chol has been executed for showing disloyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's spy agency has told parliament. National Intelligence Service officials told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that People's Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol was killed by anti-aircraft gunfire with hundreds watching at a shooting range at Pyongyang's Kang Kon Military Academy in late April, according to lawmaker Shin Kyoung-min. Late last month, the South's National Intelligence Agency (NIS) reported that Kim had ordered the execution of 15 senior officials so far this year, including two vice ministers, for questioning his authority. Image copyright EPA Image caption Of the seven pallbearers at former leader Kim Jong-il's 2011 funeral, apart from Kim Jong-un, all have either been executed, have lost their jobs or have not been seen in some time 
 
 Analysis: Stephen Evans, BBC News, Seoul 
 
 Hyon Yong-chol, as defence minister, was as close to Kim Jong-un as it is possible to get.  North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had his defence minister executed with anti-aircraft fire for insubordination and dozing off during a formal military rally, South Korean intelligence said Wednesday, hinting at possible instability in the Pyongyang leadership. Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Jong-un has conducted a series of purges of officials since coming to power 
 
 He was appointed defence minister last year. Since taking over power in North Korea following the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il, in December 2011, Kim Jong-Un has repeatedly reshuffled his senior military leaders. His most high-profile purge to date has been that of his once powerful uncle Jang Song-Thaek, who Kim condemned as "factionalist scum" following his execution. The most notable purge was in 2013 when Kim executed his uncle and chief deputy, Jang Song Thaek, for alleged treason. Last month, the US-based Committee for Human Rights in Korea published an October-dated satellite image of the same academy that analysts said showed a shooting range with anti-aircraft guns lined up in what appeared to be preparation for an execution.
– Public execution by anti-aircraft gun was the price of perceived disloyalty for North Korea's defense chief, according to South Korea's spy agency. Lawmakers in Seoul say they were told yesterday that military chief Hyon Yong Chol was killed for falling asleep during a military event and for disagreeing with Kim Jong Un, AFP reports. The Seoul lawmakers say the National Intelligence Service informed them that Hyon was killed in front of hundreds of people at a military academy in Pyongyang at the end of April, the AP reports. Hyon was little-known before 2012, when he was promoted after a purge that included the execution of Kim's uncle, reports the BBC. "Such a public and brutal method of execution as obliteration by anti-aircraft gun would emphasize the cost of disloyalty," writes Stephen Evans at the BBC, noting that while intelligence reports should be "treated with skepticism," it will be easy to verify this one by seeing whether Hyon appears in public again. According to the AFP, Hyon was last seen in public attending a musical performance on April 28, following a trip to Moscow to prepare for Kim's visit to Russia. The visit was called off around the same time Hyon was reportedly executed, and a South Korean analyst tells AFP he suspects botching the Moscow mission may have sealed the military chief's fate. Seoul's spy agency says at least 15 other people have been executed this year for challenging Kim.