Terrified residents expre-ssed grave shock as North Korean authorities publicly executed three teenagers by firing including two who alle-gedly watched and distributed South Korean movies, says a report.
A third teenager was accused of murdering his stepmother, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Dec. 2 quoting witnesses.
The officials in the ultra-communist pariah state have claimed that the crimes committed by teens aged around 16 or 17 were “equally evil” and forced the shocked residents of Hyesen city near the border with China to watch the firing.
“They said, ‘Those who watch or distribute South Korean movies and dramas, and those who disrupt social order by murdering other people, will not be forgiven and will be sentenced to the maximum penalty–death,’” said a local resident. 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.”
Brutal public executions are not uncommon in North Korea, which the authorities typically use to terrorize people to deter them from any behaviour not permitted.
The executions came about a week after the authorities declared the state will hand down tough punishments for crimes that involve foreign media, especially those from South Korea.