Fall on your sword...

Justice, NORK style.

Very close to toppling...one of the reasons I surmised an invasion/appropriation by China is a more likely outcome than Western military response.

So they execute a man who likely had little idea how to effectuate a devaluation that was inherently subject to many, many variables. "Intentionally" harming the country's economy. His "fair trial" must have been expedited as it only took 4 months from charges to execution. Very efficient!

and, of course, completely arbitrary.

March 18 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea executed an official of the ruling party last week, holding him responsible for unrest sparked by a botched currency revaluation aimed at reasserting the regime’s grip on power, according to media reports.

Pak Nam Gi, who was fired earlier this year from his post as Workers’ Party head of finance and planning, was shot in Pyongyang for intentionally harming the country’s economy, Yonhap News reported, citing people it didn’t identify. Free North Korea Radio, run by North Korean defectors in Seoul, yesterday reported widespread rumors of the execution.

The reported execution is the latest sign of efforts by Kim Jong Il’s government to appease the public after the currency revaluation fueled inflation, worsened shortages of goods and food, and decimated savings. Premier Kim Yong Il made a rare apology after the currency was devalued between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, and the sum that could be exchanged for new notes capped, Seoul-based rights groups including Good Friends said.

“North Korea must have needed a political scapegoat to take the fall after discontent seeped through every corner of society,” said Paik Hak Soon, director of inter-Korean relations at the Seongnam, South Korea-based Sejong Institute. “The killing may initially conciliate the public. More important is whether the government can ultimately solve the problem of goods shortages.”