Speaking today Foreign Office Minister, Hugo Swire said:

We are deeply concerned to learn of the execution of Jang Song-Thaek.

This is another example of the brutality of the North Korean government, and we have consistently raised concerns about severe and systematic human rights abuses in the country. The UN is currently running a Commission of Inquiry and it is quite right that we do everything we can to investigate North Korea’s appalling human rights record.

More broadly, we remain deeply concerned about the impact of this unpredictable regime on stability in the region.

Our Embassy in Pyongyang is monitoring the situation closely and we will continue to maintain close contact with our allies on this.

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