North Korea's Jong-un executes ex-girlfriend over porn video

MANILA, Philippines - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of a popular singer whom he formerly dated for allegedly circulating a pornographic video, a report said.

The execution of Kim's former girlfriend Hyon Song Wol and 11 other musicians of famous groups Unhasu Orchestra and Wangjesan Light Music Band  was set last August 20, Chosun Ilbo, a leading North Korean daily, said.

The report said the group was executed by a firing squad in front of their families.

Hyon and her companions reportedly shot the video that featured themselves and sold it in the public market. North Korean authorities arrested the group last August 17 and was sentenced shortly after their detention.

Hyon was reported to have dated Kim in the early 2000s, but the relationship was disapproved by Kim's predecessor and father Kim Jong Il.

The older Kim ordered the two to separate, reports said.

Capital punishment in North Korea is used for grave offenses such as treason, drug smuggling, murder, rape, grand theft, espionage, piracy, defection and consumption of media material not approved by the government.

Proselytizing religious beliefs and political dissidence are also punishable by execution. - Camille Diola