All direct descendants of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Song-thaek, including women and children, have been executed as per the dictator's orders, reports said.
It is unclear how or when the executions were carried on, but Korea's Yonhap news agency added that children of Jang's two brothers have also been killed.
"Extensive executions have been carried out for relatives of Jang Song-thaek," a source told Yonhap. "Some relatives were shot to death by pistol in front of other people if they resisted while being dragged out of their apartment homes," the news agency added.
According to the agency, the dead include Jang's sister Jang Kye Sun, her husband Jon Yong Jin, who was also the Ambassador to Cuba, Ambassador to Malaysia Jang Yong Chol, a nephew of Jang, along with his two sons
A few relatives by marriage, who were spared the execution, have been exiled to remote village, according to reports.
"The executions of Jang's relatives mean that no traces of him should be left," a source said. "The purge of the Jang Song-thaek people is under way on an extensive scale from relatives and low-level officials."
Kim's 67-year-old uncle was executed last year after labelling him an enemy of the state, "despicable political careerist and trickster," "human scum" and "worse than a dog."
Initial reports of the execution, which were later dismissed, revealed that Jang was eaten alive by a pack of dogs.
