NORTH KOREAN leader Kim Jong Un has been accused of killing a leading army general by throwing him into a piranha fish tank in the latest wave of scaremongering.

The Daily Star claims intelligence sources say the unnamed general had his arms and torso cut open with knives before being thrown into the tank, which was filled with hundreds of piranhas imported from Brazil.

Mr Kim is alleged to have ordered the execution after discovering a plot to oust him in a coup.

It is the latest high-profile execution said to have been carried out by the North Korean leader.

However doubts about the credibility of intelligence sources have been exposed in a number of recent cases.

Just last week Kim Yong Chol was listed on a roster of officials accompanying Mr Kim to an art performance and was photographed five seats away from him. 

The public appearance came days after South Korean newspaper reported he had been jailed and sentenced to hard labour for the collapse of talks with Washington over denuclearisation plans.