Kim Jong-un's uncle removed over 'anti-state acts'

The powerful uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been removed amid claims of corruption, drug use and a long list of other "anti-state" acts.

The purge apparently ends the career of Jang Song Thaek, the country's second most powerful official, and leaves Kim without the man long considered his mentor as he consolidated power after his father's death two years ago.

Jang Song Thaek's fall from grace, detailed in a lengthy dispatch by state media, is the latest and most significant in a series of reshuffles that Kim has conducted in an apparent effort to bolster his power.

Some analysts see the purge as a sign of Kim's growing confidence, but there has also been fear in Seoul that the removal of such an important part of the North's government could create dangerous instability or lead to a major miscalculation or attack on the South.