UCA News
Contribute

Fears that N. Korea has launched wave of public executions

Report says people are being executed for owning a Bible
Fears that N. Korea has launched wave of public executions

Picture: KNS/KCNA/AFP

Published: November 13, 2013 04:52 AM GMT
Updated: November 12, 2013 08:44 PM GMT

North Korea’s brutal and secretive regime may have unleashed a new wave of repression, executing dozens of people in public spectacles in seven cities last week, according to a report in a major South Korean newspaper Tuesday. 

The report in JoongAng Ilbo was sourced to a single, unidentified person described as someone “familiar with internal affairs in the North who recently visited the country,” and, as with most events concerning North Korea, was impossible to independently confirm. But a group of North Korean defectors living in South Korea partially confirmed the account, giving it more credence.

If true, the crackdown would be one of the most severe such event to have taken place in the two years since Kim Jong-un became leader. The public nature of last week’s acts may signal Pyongyang’s growing resolve to tamp any sentiments to Western and South Korean culture enabled by technological change and North Korea’s own economic initiatives.

JoongAng Ilbo said that many of the alleged executions were intended to demonstrate on a massive scale the punishment for watching unsanctioned foreign films and distributing pornography, the two most common transgressions.

In its online English-language version, the newspaper included a gruesome description of the events in Wonsan, a port city on the east coast:

In Wonsan, eight people were tied to a stakes at a local stadium, had their heads covered with white sacks and were shot with a machine gun, according to the source. 

According to witnesses of the execution, the source said, Wonsan authorities gathered 10,000 people, including children, at Shinpoong Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 people, and forced them to watch.

The Wonsan victims were mostly charged with watching or illegally trafficking South Korean videos, being involved in prostitution or being in possession of a Bible.  

Full Story: Public executions in North Korea? Report raises fear of new repression 

Source:Christian Science Monitor

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
Lent is the season during which catechumens make their final preparations to be welcomed into the Church.
Each year during Lent, UCA News presents the stories of people who will join the Church in proclaiming that Jesus Christ is their Lord. The stories of how women and men who will be baptized came to believe in Christ are inspirations for all of us as we prepare to celebrate the Church's chief feast.
Help us with your donations to bring such stories of faith that make a difference in the Church and society.
A small contribution of US$5 will support us continue our mission…
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
Asian Bishops
Latest News
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia