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This undated file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency in October shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a military parade. The man pictured at his left has been identified by South Korea media as Ri Yong-Gil, chief of the Korean People's Army, who was reported by the South Korean media on Feb. 10, 2016 as having been executed.(Photo: KNS, AFP/Getty Images)
North Korea recently executed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>its army chief of staff<span style="color: Red;">*</span>on corruption and other charges, South Korean media outlets and Reuters reported Wednesday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>citing sources familiar with government<span style="color: Red;">*</span>affairs in the reclusive nation.
Army Gen. Ri Yong-gil, chief of the Korean People's Army General Staff, also faced charges of pursuing personal gain, the South Korea's<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Yonhap News Agency reported. A source confirmed the execution to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Reuters.
Yonhap reported<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ri was executed last week as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided<span style="color: Red;">*</span>over a joint meeting of the North's ruling Workers' Party and the military.
The latest<span style="color: Red;">*</span>upheaval in the military ranks comes amid international condemnation over<span style="color: Red;">*</span>North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket on Sunday. World leaders denounced it as a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>violation of United Nations<span style="color: Red;">*</span>ban on North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology. North Korea says the launch of a new Earth observation satellite is part of a peaceful space program.
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The U.S. Senate will vote Wednesday on more stringent sanctions against North Korea, targeting Pyongyang's ability to access the money it needs for developing miniaturized nuclear warheads and long-range missiles.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Last month, the House of Representatives overwhelming passed a similar measure.
USA TODAY
Reports: North Korea executes army chief on corruption, other charges
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said Wednesday that the Senate has an opportunity to hold Pyongyang accountable for its growing aggression.
Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>passage of the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>bipartisan bill on sanctions<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would "send a message to Kim Jong-un that his reckless behavior will not go unanswered."
In Japan, officials say Tokyo will also impose new sanctions.
Up until last month,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ri —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>who served as the chief of the General Staff for almost three years<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— accompanied Kim on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>a series of inspection trips to military exercises and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. He<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was absent at a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>joint meeting of the party and military, Yonhap reported.
Ri<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was not listed in attendance at<span style="color: Red;">*</span>events in Pyongyang celebrating the controversial satellite<span style="color: Red;">*</span>launch<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sunday. A report on the event in the<span style="color: Red;">*</span>North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper did not mention Ri and listed Gen. Ri Myong-su in his place.
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant "defend!" as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.," attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the "Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month" and it's a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
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