SEOUL, South Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his military chief executed for corruption and other charges, a South Korean official said Thursday.
If true, the execution of Ri Yong Gil, chief of the North Korean military’s general staff, would be the latest in a series of killings, purges and dismissals since Kim took power in late 2011.

Kim Hyong Jun (L), deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ri Yong Gil, col. gen. of the Korean People's Army, before leaving Pyongyang Airport in North Korea for China on May 22, 2013. AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon