‘N Korea publicly executes 80’
12 Nov 2013 5:48 AM IST
North Korea publicly executed around 80 people earlier this month, many for watching smuggled South Korean TV shows, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday. The conservative Joong Ang Ilbo cited a single, unidentified source, but at least one North Korean defector group said it had heard rumours that lent credibility to the report.
The source, said to be ‘familiar’ with the North’s internal affairs and recently returned from the country, said the executions were carried out in seven cities on 3 November.
In the eastern port of Wonsan, the authorities gathered 10,000 people in a sports stadium to watch the execution of eighty people by firing squad, the source quoted one eyewitness as saying. Most were charged with watching illicit South Korean TV dramas, and some with prostitution.
Several of the cities, including Wonsan and Pyongsong in the west, have been designated as special economic zones aimed at attracting foreign investment to boost the North’s moribund economy.
The Seoul-based news website, Daily NK, which is run by North Korean defectors and has a wide network of sources, said it had no information on the executions. But another defector-run website, North Korea Intellectual Solidarity, said its sources had reported months ago on plans for a wave of public executions.
The source, said to be ‘familiar’ with the North’s internal affairs and recently returned from the country, said the executions were carried out in seven cities on 3 November.
In the eastern port of Wonsan, the authorities gathered 10,000 people in a sports stadium to watch the execution of eighty people by firing squad, the source quoted one eyewitness as saying. Most were charged with watching illicit South Korean TV dramas, and some with prostitution.
Several of the cities, including Wonsan and Pyongsong in the west, have been designated as special economic zones aimed at attracting foreign investment to boost the North’s moribund economy.
The Seoul-based news website, Daily NK, which is run by North Korean defectors and has a wide network of sources, said it had no information on the executions. But another defector-run website, North Korea Intellectual Solidarity, said its sources had reported months ago on plans for a wave of public executions.
Next Story
