What Really Happened in North Korea

The highly choreographied funeral of the late North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il and the coronation of his youngest son, twenty-something Kim Jong-un, as his successor were broadcast around the world. 
But behind the scenes were a series of machiavellian machinations--including disappearances and political assasinations--of Kim Jong-un's potential rivals that would not have seemed out of place in the court of the Medici.
Here's what really went on in North Korea between the time in January 2009 that Kim Jong-il decided that his youngest offspring would be his successor and the time of his death, on December 17, 2011, as reported by the Korean English-language publication, The Chosunilbo:
"A series of executions and unexplained deaths since North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son Jong-un was anointed heir to the throne in January 2009 were apparently meant to remove obstacles to the transition...
Pak Nam-gi, director of the Planning and Finance Department in the Workers Party, and Moon Il-bong, head of finance, were executed by firing squad in April and June last year.  Hong Sok-hyong, who succeeded Pak, was relieved of all of his duties in June and his whereabouts are unknown.  Ex-minister of railways Kim Yong-sam was executed in June of last year after being linked to a massive explosion in Ryongchon in 2004 that is believed to have been a botched attack on Kim Jong-il's armored train...
There are views that Kim Jong-un's "reign of terror" has already begun. According to a government source, there were 60 public executions in North Korea last year, a three-fold increase from 2009."
If you're interested in what's really happening in North Korea, you can read the entire article here:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/12/27/2011122700527.html