North Korea Executes Army Chief Ri Yong-gil for Corruption

North Korea reportedly executed army chief Ri Yong-gil for corruption, South Korean media outlets and Reuters said.

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, Ri, who was the chief of the Korean People's Army General Staff, was executed last week. He had faced charges of pursuing personal gain and "factional conspiracy."

Months before the execution, Ri could be seen accompanying President Kim Jong Un on several inspection trips related to the military. Over the past few days, however, Ri was not present at numerous events.

Ri was the latest of several top officials who had either been executed or purged by the young leader on charges that included corruption and disloyalty.

News of the execution comes just days after North Korea launched a rocket allegedly for observational purposes. Several countries, including South Korea and the United States, believe that North Korea was really testing its ballistic missile technology, which the country is forbidden to do under a United Nations ban.

In response to the launch, South Korea suspended its operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, cutting off a huge source of revenue for North Korea.

South Korea and the United States have also been calling for stricter sanctions to be placed on North Korea after it carried out an unsanctioned nuclear bomb in the beginning of January. The test was the country's fourth one.