Editor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for The Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer and correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television." Follow her on Twitter @FridaGhitis.
(CNN) -- The chilling images from North Korea brought back memories from one of the most disturbing and important moments of none other than Saddam Hussein's tactics for establishing his iron-clad rule of Iraq. The young North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, it appears, has learned from the most ruthless and long-lasting of modern dictators.
On Monday, North Korea's citizens saw what would have seemed impossible just a few months ago: The man who had stood at Kim's side since he came to power, his uncle Jang Song Thaek, publicly humiliated in a shake-up that signaled a fierce power struggle and sent a stern message to the country and the world.
The televised footage showed what unfolded during the meeting of the party's Central Committee, reportedly the day before. In a room of stunned party members, two uniformed soldiers grabbed Jang -- until recently the country's second most powerful man -- and took him away after he was accused of betraying Kim and the revolution.
Just a few days later, on Thursday, the North Korea government-controlled Korean Central News Agency reported that Jang had been executed for betraying the regime: "Despicable human scum Jang, who was worse than a dog, perpetrated thrice-cursed acts of treachery in betrayal of such profound trust and warmest paternal love shown by the party and the leader for him.