A senior North Korean colonel has been executed by firing squad in front of his own men in Nampo for allegedly stealing dozens of tonnes of state reserve grain, amid heightened military crackdowns as the country faces a worsening food crisis.
A top North Korean colonel has been executed in front of his own men for allegedly embezzling state reserve grain.
The shooting left his officers “deeply shaken,” a Daily NK source in South Pyongan province said, adding: “Their faces turned pale. They left without making eye contact with each other.”
Daily Mail reports that earlier in July, authorities arrested the senior colonel from a coastal guard unit based in Nampo for allegedly stealing large amounts of the military’s reserve grain.
“He was executed by firing squad on July 12 in front of members of his unit,” the source said.
He was accused of secretly stealing several dozen tonnes of grain from a warehouse under his own command, then allegedly attempting to transport it by vehicle to Nampo port, before officials guarding the warehouse spotted him and reported the incident.
The senior colonel was arrested and taken to the Military Security Bureau for questioning, before being referred to a court martial, where he received the maximum sentence — execution — for stealing reserve grain amid a domestic food crisis.
Following the execution at a shooting range near Nampo, the party’s central leadership and the military’s General Political Bureau are believed to have delivered warnings vowing to root out corruption in the armed forces. Fear among senior military officials has reportedly reached new heights as a result, Daily NK claimed.
Special security measures have since been put in place around the Nampo port area, where an inspection team now oversees every vessel’s entry and exit, as well as cargo loading. Daily life has become increasingly difficult for civilians in the surrounding area due to the scrutiny on routine transportation of supplies.
Over 45 per cent of North Korea’s population, 11.8 million people, are undernourished, the United Nations found in March 2025, with UN Special Rapporteur Elizabeth Salmón noting the government’s shift toward a state-monopoly food distribution system amid strict border shutdowns since 2020.
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