Kim Jong Un's Rumored Dead Ex-Girlfriend Shows up Alive on Television: Singer Purportedly Executed by Firing Squad for Pornographic Film
Last year, North Korea leader Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered the execution of his ex-girlfriend by death of firing squad, however, Hyon Song Wol, a singer in an all-female band, was seen alive and speaking on a television broadcast Friday night.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Wol had been sentenced to death for performing in pornographic films that were sold in China. She was reported to be one of 10-12 people executed last August by a firing squad.
On Friday the singer spoke at a national meeting of artists in Pyongyang that was broadcasted over the airwaves. During her talk, Wol thanked her ex for the support he has given to the arts, and she also promised to "stoke up the flame for art and creative work."
Wol is a member of the Unhasu Orchestra and dated Un, who is now 30 years old, when he was in his early 20s, the Times reported. After their break up, Un went on to marry a former member of the band, Ri Sol-Ju.
The South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, a staunch advocate against communism and North Korea, broke the story of Wol's execution last year. The news agency cited unnamed sources in its scathing article against its northern counterpart, which claimed that North Korea had been unjustifiably executing people.
"Kim Jong Un has been viciously eliminating anyone who he deems a challenge to his authority," the publication reported.
North Korean officials, however, do not dispute that executions took place, but they do not believe Wol was one of the individuals killed, according to the Times.
Andray Abrahamian, a Korea expert for the educational exchange organization Choson Exchange, said reporting accurately in North Korea is hard to do because of the country's flair for secrecy. He said it's easy for rumors to get started in such an environment.
"North Korea is an information hard-target, to be sure," Abrahamian wrote in an article published at NKnews.org. "Something about its media-resistant nature, along with several other facts, gives rise to all manner of rumors, some mundane, some bizarre, some of significance."
Some of the other rumors to come out of North Korea has been compiled into a list the news agency put together called the "Top 10 most bizarre rumors to spread about North Korea."
They listed included several stories such as North Korean scientists discovered evidence of unicorns and former leader Kim Jong Il hit 18 holes-in-one during his first game of golf.
However, one story that seemed bizarre actually ended up to be true, which was the story of Kim Jong Il kidnapping a South Korean filmmaker to make his own "Godzilla" movie.