Around
80 people were earlier this month publicly executed in North Korea for
watching smuggled South Korean TV shows, a South Korean newspaper
reported Monday.
The
conservative JoongAng Ilbo cited a single, unidentified source, but at
least one North Korean defector group said it had heard rumours that
lent credibility to the front-page 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 November 3.
In
the eastern port of Wonsan, the authorities gathered 10,000 people in a
sports stadium to watch the execution of eight 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 several months ago on plans for a wave of
public executions.
“The
regime is obviously afraid of potential changes in people’s mindsets
and is pre-emptively trying to scare people off,” said one website
official.
Watching unsanctioned foreign films or TV – especially those from the capitalist South – is a serious offence in North Korea.
However,
efforts to control their distribution have been circumvented by
technology, with an increasing number of foreign films and TV shows
being smuggled in on DVDs, flash drives and mp3 players.
As
well as South Korean soap operas, US shows like Desperate Housewives
are believed to have a small but avid following, despite the fact that
watching the show is punishable by death.
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