We’ve all seen the headlines: “Kim Jong Un executes this official,” “Kim Jong Un purges that minister,” and whatever else the Western media can squeeze out. According to outlets like Radio Free Asia, simply existing inside the Workers’ Party of Korea or the government is a death sentence waiting to happen. Kim Jong Un is supposedly wiping people out left and right for the smallest imaginable reasons.
The sources for these claims are always unverifiable and dubious. South Korean intelligence will make an assertion and cite some “unknown source in Pyongyang,” then the story gets picked up by Western media and spreads like wildfire.
However, there is a noticeable trend behind these sensationalist headlines: many people who were claimed to have been executed by Kim Jong Un have apparently risen from the dead.
Hyon Song-wol
Take pop star Hyon Song-wol for example. In 2013, South Korean media reported that a group of pop stars had been mass executed by a machine gun wielding firing squad, with Hyon Song-wol listed among the victims.¹
The world was quite shocked when she appeared on DPRK national television just one year later, alive and well, delivering a public speech.² She later attended the 2018 Winter Olympics,³ and continues to regularly appear in DPRK state media today, as she is a member of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.⁴
Hyon Yong-chol
Another example comes from May 2015, when the BBC reported that South Korean intelligence claimed Defense Minister Hyon Yong-chol had been executed with an anti-aircraft gun, allegedly in front of hundreds of people, for falling asleep during an event attended by Kim Jong-un.⁵
However, within hours of the story circulating, South Korean intelligence revised its statement, admitting that it could not confirm any execution at all. The claim was downgraded from execution to a purge.⁶
Despite this revision, the story of Hyon Yong-chol’s supposed execution is still routinely cited as evidence of the DPRK’s alleged “irrationality” or “insanity,” long after the original claim was walked back.
Ri Yong-gil
In February 2016, South Korean and Western media reported that General Ri Yong-gil had been executed for factionalism and corruption.⁷ However this claim was a complete fabrication. Just three months later, Ri Yong-gil publicly reappeared at the 7th Workers’ Party Congress, very much alive.⁸
Hwang Pyong-so
In December 2017, rumors began to circulate in Western media that Hwang Pyong-so had been executed. Newsweek ran the headline, “North Korea’s Second Most Powerful Official After Kim Jong Un Vanishes, Raising Fears of Execution.”⁹ Meanwhile, the online outlet News of the South opted for the more direct and attention-grabbing claim, “Kim Jong Un’s top aide executed.”¹⁰
Only a few months later, in February 2018, South Korean media reported that Hwang Pyong-so had reemerged at a ceremony marking Kim Jong-il’s 76th birthday, disproving the earlier claims.¹¹
Kim Hyok-chol
Just in 2019, South Korean media reported that diplomat Kim Hyok-chol had been executed at Mirim Airport for allegedly spying for the US.¹² Interestingly, CNN would later report that he was, in fact, still alive.¹³
Conclusion
As we can see, there’s a common trend of South Korean intelligence and Western media reporting supposed executions in the DPRK, only for these individuals to reappear later. Even when such stories are retracted, the retraction rarely receives the same attention as the initial sensational claim. This is why these examples keep surfacing in conversations about the DPRK.
Many ask, "Why does the media lie about the DPRK?" The answer is simple: to manipulate public perception. By making the DPRK seem unstable, violent, and irrational, Western imperialist countries can justify sanctions, covert operations, and pushes for regime change.
This pattern demonstrates why it’s essential to remain skeptical of the information you receive about the country. Claims about the DPRK from South Korean or Western intelligence and media should not be accepted unless they are substantiated beyond a reasonable doubt with concrete evidence.
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