Three teenagers were executed by North Korea by firing squad two for watching and distributing South Korean movies and one for murdering his stepmother, two sources who saw it told Radio Free Asia.
The teens, estimated to be 16 or 17 years old, were equally evil, authorities told terrified residents who were forced to watch, the sources said.
They said those who watch or distribute South Korean movies and dramas, and those who disrupt social order by murdering others, will not be forgiven and will be sentenced to maximum penalty death, a resident of the city of Hyesan, on the border with China, where the execution took place, told RFA s Korean service.
The execution took place in October at an airfield in the city, the resident said.
Hyesan residents gathered in groups at the runway, she said. The authorities put the teen-aged students in front of the public, sentenced them to death and immediately shot them. Authorities will usually use executions to terrify people into behaveing in the way they want them to.
The executions came about a week after the authorities held public meetings to tell the public that they were going to get tough on crimes involving foreign media, especially from more prosperous and democratic South Korea.
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Copyright is available in 1998 -- 2022, RFA. It was used with permission from Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036.
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