Kim Jong-un's Former Girlfriend Executed for Porn Video, Reports Say
North Korean singer Hyon Song-wol, the former girlfriend of leader Kim Jong-Un, has reportedly been executed by machine gun along with other musicians and dancers for participating in porn videos.
"They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on," South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said of reports circulating in China.
Hyon, a member of the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble which sings propaganda songs, and several others were apparently arrested on Aug. 17 for videotaping themselves having sex and selling the videos, which have gone on sale in China. They were executed only three days later on Aug. 20, and as part of the country's principle of guilt by association, the families of the executed have been sent to prison camps.
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The singer met Kim over a decade ago, but the late Kim Jong-il decided to break off their relationship, after which Hyon married a soldier. There have been rumors in the following years that the two had secretly been having an affair.
"Kim Jong-un has been viciously eliminating anyone who he deems a challenge to his authority," an unidentified source was quoted by the Chosun Ilbo, adding that the executions "show that he is fixated on consolidating his leadership."
Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, shared with The Daily Telegraph that he believes the singer was executed for "political reasons."
"If these people had only made pornographic videos, then it is simply not believable that their punishment was execution," Shigemura offered.
"They could have been made to disappear into the prison system there instead." He continued, "Or, as Kim's wife once belonged to the same group, it is possible that these executions are more about Kim's wife," referring to singer Ri Sol-ju.
New York Magazine noted that much like many other stories coming out of North Korea, it is hard to determine how much truth such reports contain.
"Frustratingly, when dealing with news from inside the closed state, it's both impossible to fully believe anonymously sourced reports such as this one, and often impossible to obtain anything more concrete."
The Chosun Ilbo is one of the major newspapers in South Korea, with a daily circulation of over 2.3 million.
Hyon can be seen performing the song "A Girl in the Saddle of a Steed" in this March 2012 concert video:
