The Great Successor is firm but fair.

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I know this is all over the internet now, but it sounds absurd to me.

Here's the claim:

"Kim Chol, vice minister of the army, was taken into custody earlier this year on the orders of Kim Jong-un, who assumed the leadership after the death of his father in December.

On the orders of Kim Jong-un to leave "no trace of him behind, down to his hair," according to South Korean media, Kim Chol was forced to stand on a spot that had been zeroed in for a mortar round and "obliterated."

This story smells fishy to be because

1. Mortars are notoriously inaccurate, you don't really "aim" them at a still target, but fire them in the general direction of an area you are targeting.

2. The South Korean "source" for this story has no mention of mortars, but it does mention execution by firing squad:

N.Korean Vice Defense Chief Executed by Firing Squad
North Korea's vice minister of the People's Armed Forces was among senior officers executed by firing squad early this year for drinking alcohol during the mourning period for former leader Kim Jong-il, it emerged Tuesday.

According to intelligence data submitted to lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee, new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un checked on the behavior of senior party, government and military leaders during the mourning period early this year. Kim Chol was executed in January, in an apparent bid to force top military brass into submission.
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/10/24/2012102400755.html

North Korea does have a habit of exibiting bizarre behavior, but I think this rumor may just be another case of internet hyperbole.

You're probably right, it just made me laugh.

All mortars are not the same. There are large ones and small ones - some are absolutely able to hit a precise target. So it could be done.

Jong-Il's Hair Apparent wrote:

All mortars are not the same. There are large ones and small ones - some are absolutely able to hit a precise target. So it could be done.

Yes, but the supposed source of this story that is referred and linked to, the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo, has no mention of execution by mortar, but says he was executed by firing squad last January.