North Korean sources revealed that three men from the country recently attempted to flee to South Korea but were unsuccessful and publicly executed by the authorities. These individuals were shot by a firing squad, with each of them being hit up to 90 times, resulting in their bodies being mutilated and a gruesome scene.
According to Radio Free Asia, an eyewitness and a resident who heard about the execution informed the radio station that the three North Korean men, all in their thirties, were arrested in January while attempting to escape by boat to South Korea.
The two informants stated that the men got lost in the thick fog at sea. When they saw a ship, they believed it was a South Korean fishing vessel and thought they had crossed the border, so they shouted for help. However, it turned out to be a North Korean patrol boat, and they were intercepted and apprehended.
In the past, individuals attempting to escape like them would have been sent to labor camps for up to 15 years. But now, North Korean authorities openly execute them, deploying firing squads to serve as a deterrent for others considering escape. This reflects the increasingly severe punishments North Korea imposes on defectors.
Public executions in North Korea are common and can involve individuals convicted of crimes such as murder, human trafficking, and even watching South Korean movies.
The three executed North Korean men were two brothers surnamed Kim and their friend surnamed Ri, all from the region bordering South Korea known as the Yellow Sea South Province.
A resident from the North Pyongan Province witnessed the execution process when traveling to the Yellow Sea South Province. He provided a detailed account to the radio station’s Korean department, describing how the three men were tied to wooden stakes for the execution.
He said, “We saw these young people being dragged out, their eyes blindfolded, mouths gagged, then shot multiple times, turning their bodies into pieces.”
He mentioned that in previous executions, the neck, trunk, and legs of the condemned would be tied to wooden stakes. However, due to the severe torture endured by these three men, they were too weak to support themselves, so six parts of their bodies were bound.
The authorities shouted, “Traitors must be punished!” Ten executioners simultaneously fired at the three individuals, targeting their heads, chests, and legs with 3 shots each, totaling 90 hits per person.
He stated that the authorities showed disrespect to the deceased by declaring, “There is no place on this land to bury the bodies of defectors!” before burning the scattered remains.
Many children and young students at the scene screamed in terror, with some residents fainting.
Another resident from the North Pyongan Province confirmed the incident, hearing about it from a friend in the Yellow Sea South Province who was also a witness. The local government ordered everyone from nearby factories, farms, and schools to witness the execution.
He said, “This is an attempt to instill fear in the residents, to let them know that this is what happens when you try to escape. Most residents, unaware of what was happening, were forced to witness such a terrifying sight.”
The two residents from the North Pyongan Province revealed that before the execution, the authorities explained to the onlookers that the three men had been planning to escape for months. They pooled money to buy a small boat and set sail on January 6, hoping to cross the maritime border in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula that same night.
One of the residents from the North Pyongan Province expressed that unfortunately, the men encountered heavy fog at sea, could only rely on a compass to navigate south, and were ultimately arrested by mistaking the North Korean patrol boat for a South Korean fishing vessel.
He said, “Now, without exception, anyone attempting to go to South Korea will be publicly executed.”