1. This seems like an appropriate sentence for listening to Radio Free Asia lmao
  2. This definitely didn't happen

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1341056354396549123

The U.S.-funded news source reported last week that a man who was identified only by his surname Choi was executed in front of dozens of other captains after admitting to authorities to listening to Radio Free Asia for more than a decade.

  • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    From the original RFA propaganda piece:

    Authorities in North Korea executed the owner of a fishing fleet in front of 100 boat captains and fisheries executives for secretly listening to broadcasts by Radio Free Asia and other forbidden media outlets while at sea, sources in the country told RFA...

    “In mid-October, a captain of a fishing boat from Chongjin was executed by firing squad, on charges of listening to Radio Free Asia regularly over a long period of time,” a law enforcement official from North Hamgyong province told RFA’s Korean Service Wednesday.

    “We know that the captain’s surname was Choi and he was in his 40s. He was working out of a fishery base affiliated with the Central Party’s Bureau 39,” the source said, referring to the secret organization tasked with acquiring hard currency and maintaining a slush fund for Kim Jong Un...

    “We know that the provincial security department defined his crime as an attempt of subversion against the party. They publicly shot him at the base in front of 100 other captains and managers of the facility’s fish processing plants. They also dismissed or discharged party officials, the base’s administration and the security officers who allowed Choi to work at sea,” said the source.

    Another source, a resident of the province, confirmed to RFA that news of Choi’s execution had spread among the public.

    “During the investigation, they found out that when he was out fishing on distant seas, he fixed the frequency and listened continuously to foreign broadcasts,” the second source said.

    The source said that with Choi’s growing power and wealth as a fleet owner, he became high-handed toward his crew.

    “One of the fishermen sought vengeance for Choi’s arrogant and disrespectful behavior so he reported him to the security department,” the second source said.

    Let's recap what "sources" have said about the story:

    1. They know the crime and some of the legal specifics ("an attempt of subversion against the party")
    2. They know where it happened; a specific province, a specific base, and something about what the base does
    3. They claim 100 witnesses to the actual execution, plus "news... spread among the public"
    4. They know the whole backstory of how this illicit listening was discovered
    5. They know about several other punishments handed out to related officials

    But they don't even know the guy's full name? And this public execution doesn't have any sort of official report to back it up?