North Korea's firing squad executes 2 teenagers for watching & sharing films from S Korea

North Korea has executed two teenagers, who were aged between 16 and 17, for watching and distributing movies from its neighbouring nation and rival South Korea. The two boys were sentenced for the crime in October at Hyesan airfield. The boys were executed by firing squad as witnesses were faced to watch, reported the Express. The development comes amid a brutal crackdown by Kim Jong-Un's violent dictatorship on foreign media.

However, such executions are not new in North Korea. Previously, another teenager of the same age group was executed in the dictatorship-driven country for allegedly killing his mother, reported the Express. However, the unbelievably unusual relation between the two cases is the label by the North Korean authorities of both crimes being "equally evil."

Murder and watching K-dramas carry the equal penalty

According to Radio Free Asia, the locals of Hyesan, located in the nation's north near the North Korea-China border gather in groups on the runway and made to witness the execution. As per the reports, the teenagers were " immediately shot", after being put in front of the public.

Furthermore, witnesses cited North Korean authorities telling them, "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," reported the Express.

As per reports, the two teens were caught in a trap by North Korean 'spies' while trying to sell small memory sticks containing contraband films in their local marketplace. The witnesses report Pyongyang authorities plant government spies among the public to catch such individuals.

Pyongyang concerned about the impact of films from prosperous nations

The execution of the two boys in North Korea comes following warnings by the authorities that there would be a crackdown on any crimes involving foreign media. The North Korean regime is particularly targeting content which came from its democratic and more prosperous neighbour, South Korea. Western and South Korean movies, TV shows and music have found their way into North Korea being carried in SD cards and USB flash drives through China.

Meanwhile, watching a foreign film carries the punishment of being sent to a disciplinary labour centre, execution witnesses were cited by the Express as informing. Furthermore, being caught a second time committing the same crime, the violators will be sent to a correctional labour camp for five years along with their parents. The North Korean government argues that parents must take responsibility for improperly educating their children. However, consumption and distribution of South Korean content is sufficient ground for North Korean authorities to announce the death penalty, even if the violators are underaged.