Hyon Song-wol
(
)
It’s “Bad Romance,” North Korean-style.
A popular North Korean singer — and former gal pal of baby-faced dictator Kim Jong-un — was executed by firing squad over trumped-up allegations that she made pornographic videos.
Hyon Song-wol was shot to death by Kim’s goons, along with 11 other musicians — while their friends and families were forced to watch — according to a shocking report in the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo.
Hyon, who was famous for her propaganda songs, and the other entertainers allegedly broke North Korea’s strict anti-pornography laws when they made sex tapes that were then sold in China.
The victims were rounded up on Aug. 17 and shot three days later. Following the slaughter, their loved ones were sent to prison camps under North Korea’s barbaric guilt-by-association policies, sources told the Seoul-based newspaper.
Hyon’s popular, pro-government propaganda hits included “Footsteps of Soldiers,” “I Love Pyongyang” and “Excellent Horse-Like Lady.”
The musicians were members of Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble and another popular group, Unhasu Orchestra.
Kim Jong-un’s wife, singer Ri Sol-ju, was once a member of the Unhasu Orchestra.
Kim dated Hyon — a member of Pochonbo — before marrying Ri.
Experts on North Korea said the reported executions smelled of personal vendetta because pornography isn’t a capital offense.
“If these people had only made pornographic videos, then it is simply not believable that their punishment was execution,” said Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University and an expert on North Korean affairs.
“There is a political reason behind this,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Or, as Kim’s wife once belonged to the same group, it is possible that these executions are more about Kim’s wife.”
Despite the iron grip Kim, his dad and grandfather have held over North Korea, their regimes have been marked by internal turmoil. “If she [Hyon] lost her life, it wasn’t because of any video,” Amnesty International Director Frank Jannuzi told The Post. “It would be because of a judgment that she was politically unreliable or aligned with folks who may be disloyal.”