Report: North Korea public executions rise from 17 to 40 year-to-year

SEOUL, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Executions in North Korea have risen sharply to suppress internal dissent, South Korean lawmaker Cho Won-jin said Friday.

Public executions in North Korea rose from 17 in 2012 to more than 40 this year, Cho said.

"These executions are aimed at setting an example and quelling complaints from within," Cho said during a news media briefing Friday.

An earlier report from South Korea's National Intelligence Service indicated that Jang Song Thaek, an uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was dismissed from his position and two of Jang's friends were executed, Yonhap reported.