North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly executed his former girlfriend and 11 others by firing squad after they were detained for allegedly violating the nation’s laws against pornography.
The Telegraph reports the South Korean paper Chosun Ilbo claims Hyon Song-wol, a North Korean pop singer who was Kim’s former girlfriend, and 11 others were detained on August 17 after being “accused of making videos of themselves performing sex acts and then selling the recordings.” Some also reportedly had Bibles in their posession.
The twelve musicians, all of whom were part of Hyon’s band, were executed with machine guns three days later in front of their families and associates, all of whom were then sent to prison camps.
The musicians were “all were treated as political dissidents” after being arrested.
Kim reportedly dated Hyon 10 years ago, but his late father ordered him to end the relationship. Kim’s former girlfriend then “married an officer in the North Korean military and reportedly had a baby, although there are suggestions that Hyon continued to see Kim after her marriage.”
If those suggestions are true, another theory behind the executions is that Kim’s wife, Ri Sol-ju, who was also a member of Hyon’s band before marriage, “objected to the continuing high profile of her husband’s former girlfriend” and convinced Kim to execute her.