Jang Song Thaek, the uncle and de facto deputy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is safe even as it appears he has been removed from his post, a South Korean minister said.
Jang, a vice chairman of the National Defense Commission led by Kim, remains physically unharmed, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a parliamentary hearing Wednesday in Seoul, local television networks reported. The Unification Ministry later confirmed the remarks.
"Purges are continuing in North Korea," Ryoo told lawmakers, without saying how he obtained the information.