Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend was among a dozen well-known North Korean performers who were executed by firing squad nine days ago, according to South Korean reports. Hyon Song-wol, a singer, rumoured to be a former lover of the North Korean leader, is said to have been arrested on Aug 17 with 11 others for violating laws against pornography.While one is compelled to feel a certain respect for the North Korean government's robust position concerning pop singers, this does put an interesting spin on the idea that the world would be more peaceful if only women were in charge. Forget executing ex-lovers, I suspect that in a female dictatorship, women would be regularly executed for being prettier, more popular, or the crime of having larger breasts than the dictatrix.
The reports in South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper indicate that Hyon, a singer with the Unhasu Orchestra, was among those arrested on August 17 for violating domestic laws on pornography. All 12 were machine-gunned three days later, with other members of North Korea's most famous pop groups and their immediate families forced to watch....
Kim Jong-un, who became leader of North Korea after the sudden death of his father in December 2011, is believed to have met Hyon about 10 years ago and struck up a relationship. His father, Kim Jong-il, did not approve of the relationship and ordered him to break it off. Hyon subsequently married an officer in the North Korean military and reportedly had a baby, although there are suggestions that Hyon continued to see Kim after her marriage.
Kim's wife, Ri Sol-ju, was also a member of the Unhasu Orchestra before marriage and one theory is that Ri objected to the continuing high profile of her husband's former girlfriend.
~ archived since 2018 ~
