A North Korean fisherman was publicly executed for listening to foreign radio stations at sea, Radio Free Asia report says

Kim Jong Un giving field guidance during his visit to the Chongjin Shipyard in this undated photo released July 17, 2018. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)/Reuters

By Insider.com 

• A North Korean fishing-boat captain is reported to have been publicly executed for listening to banned foreign radio stations while at sea.
• The man, known by his surname, Choi, and said to have been in his 40s, was killed by firing squad in front of 100 boat captains and fisheries executives, a Radio Free Asia report said, citing sources in the country.
• Choi, who owned a fleet of more than 50 ships, is thought to have been turned in by one of his crew members after he became unpopular with them. He confessed to authorities and was charged with "subversion against the party," the report quoted a law-enforcement official as saying.

A North Korean fishing-boat captain is believed to have been publicly executed for listening to banned foreign radio stations while at sea.

The man, known by his surname, Choi, and said to have been in his 40s, was killed by firing squad in front of 100 boat captains and fisheries executives, a Radio Free Asia report said, citing sources in the country.

North Korea has strict rules governing the behavior of its citizens and prohibits them from listening to most foreign radio stations. Radio Free Asia noted, however, that international broadcasts could be picked up while in the open water.

Choi, who is said to have owned a fleet of more than 50 ships, is thought to have been turned in by one of his crew members after he became unpopular with the crew. He confessed to authorities and was charged with "subversion against the party," the Radio Free Asia report quoted an unnamed North Korean law-enforcement official as saying.

The source said the captain had begun tuning in to foreign radio stations while serving as a radio operator in the military and had listened to Radio Free Asia for the past 15 years.

"The security authorities decided then that the time to reeducate him had long past, so they executed him by firing squad," a local resident told Radio Free Asia. "Therefore, it seems that the authorities made an example out of Choi to imprint on the residents that listening to outside radio stations means death."

Radio Free Asia is funded by the US government but is meant to operate as an independent source of journalism.

It said that a signal corpsman was sent to a North Korean prison camp in June for listening to the station and that in 2018 a separate signaler from the country's elite Supreme Guard Command was similarly punished — along with his entire command — after he had listened to banned broadcasts.