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Couple executed in North Korea for trying to flee amid COVID-19 pandemic

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Couple executed in North Korea for trying to flee amid COVID-19 pandemic

A couple in their 50’s have been executed by firing squad at the North Korea border after they both tried to flee from the Ryanggang province into China earlier this month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reports say the couple wanted to return their 14-year-old nephew to his parents in South Korea after escaping from their home in Hyensan, Ryanggang province amid the country’s strict coronavirus quarantine.

Locals speaking under anonymity told RFA Korean Service that the couple wanted to bring their teenage nephew back to his parents in South Korea but were both executed for their action while their nephew who was with them escaped death due to his age.

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One said: ‘Earlier this month I heard from an acquaintance in the provincial security department that a family who tried to escape the country was shot to death.

‘They were arrested for attempting to escape [across] the border, which is now heavily controlled due to the national emergency quarantine against the coronavirus.’

The boy was the son of the wife’s younger brother, who had previously fled to the South, reports added.

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