North Korean singer Hyon Song-wol, known as the ex-girlfriend of the state's reclusive leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly been executed by a firing squad, major South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reports
Hyon and others were reportedly arrested on Aug. 17 for violating lawsagainst pornography and publicly executed on the 20th.
A source told Chosun Ilbo that Hyon and the head of the orchestra "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."
Chosun Ilbo has a daily circulation of more than 2,200,000 and publishes web versions in English, Chinese, and Japanese.
The performers were accused of making and selling sex tapes, some of which "have apparently gone on sale in China." Reuters notes that because some of performers possessed bibles, the tapes were classified as a political crime (and a capital offense) in the Hermit Kingdom.
Hyon sang in one of North Korea's most popular bands, the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble, which plays revolutionary and propaganda songs.
Chosun Ilbo notes that Kim's wife Ri Sol-ju was a member of the Unhasu Orchestra — which has been reportedly disbanded — before she married him and birthed an heir to the Supreme Leader.
According to Chosun Ilbo, Kim and Hyon began dating about 10 years ago but his father, Kim Jong-il, forced the relationship to end.
The unnamed source said Hyon's family and others were taken to the country's notorious labor camps.
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