When North Korea’s leading girl group took to a Pyongyang stage late last month to entertain a beige-clad military audience with such patriotic numbers as “I Like My Country the Most”, the guest of honour was the defence minister, Hyon Yong Chol.
Within three days Hyon was dead, according to South Korean spies, executed with an anti-aircraft gun for such acts of disrespect as falling asleep during a speech by supreme leader Kim Jong Un.
Such a rapid downfall would be far from unprecedented under Mr Kim, who has undertaken what appears to be the most sweeping purge of top North Korean officials for decades.
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