Kerry: Kim Jong Un 'Reckless' Like Saddam

Secretary says recent purging reminiscent of Iraqi dictator
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 15, 2013 8:08 AM CST
Updated Dec 15, 2013 9:07 AM CST
Kerry: Kim Jong Un 'Reckless' Like Saddam
In this Sept. 9, 2013 file image, Kim Jong Un waves to spectators in a military parade in Pyongyang.   (AP Photo/KRT via AP Video, File)

John Kerry looks at Kim Jong Un's execution of his uncle and sees shades of another infamous dictator using bloody ruthlessness to secure his grip on power: Saddam Hussein. "You saw the pictures of his uncle being arrested in front of everybody at this meeting," Kerry said in an interview today on ABC, as per Politico. "I mean it really reminded me of a video that we saw of Saddam Hussein doing the same thing, having people plucked out of an audience and people sitting there sweating and nobody daring to move."

And that underscores how "spontaneous" and "erratic" the young ruler is, says Kerry. "To have a nuclear weapon, potentially, in the hands of somebody like Kim Jong Un just becomes even more unacceptable." Further, Kerry says the "significant number of executions" in the last months "tells us a significant amount about the instability, internally, of the regime." Meanwhile, it looks like Kim's aunt is safe for now. (More John Kerry stories.)

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