Recent English-language reports in the South Korean media have discussed a South Korean lawmaker’s claim that 31 senior officials have been killed or purged since Kim Jong Un’s first public appearance in September 2010.  But what grounds were these claims made on and might there be other factors at play?

On Tuesday, Rep. Yun Sang Hyun, a member of the ruling conservative party in South Korea, said that,

“Kim Jong-un is purging senior officials who are becoming an obstacle to his grip on power, performing poorly or expressing their dissatisfaction, according to his needs.”

The lawmaker also released a list