North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered the public execution of two senior bureaucrats, using an anti-aircraft gun. Now South Korean media are suggesting the killings are the start of a "new reign of terror" in the aftermath of recent high-profile defections. South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported that one of the men was Ri Yong-jin, an education official, who fell asleep in a meeting with Kim."He incurred the wrath of Kim after he dozed off during a meeting that Kim presided over," the newspaper quoted a source as saying. "He was executed after other charges, such as corruption, were found during the probe."The second official was Hwang Min, a former agriculture minister, who was executed "because policy proposals he had pushed for were seen as a direct challenge to Kim Jong-un".The executions were carried out with anti-aircraft guns at a military academy in Pyongyang. Use of such weapons has been reported in the past, notably in April last year when satellite images caught an imminent execution at a military training area outside Pyongyang.Some reports claim the Kim clan, which has ruled North Korea with an iron fist since 1945, used flame throwers and mortars to eliminate its opponents.The JoongAng Ilbo suggested the latest executions "may be interpreted as a new reign of terror in North Korea, prompted by a series of defections by senior officials".Thae Yong-ho, deputy head of the North Korean embassy in London, fled to Seoul with his wife and three children in July. More reports say at least seven diplomats have fled overseas missions this year , including the third secretary at the embassy in Moscow. ..