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North Korean Officials Reportedly Purged for Watching Soap Operas

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently executed 10 officials for watching soap operas, according to South Korea’s state news agency.

Yonhap News — which is known for having an anti-North Korean bias — reported Tuesday that 10 officials from the Workers’ Party of Korea were executed by firing squad on charges of corruption, watching South Korean soap operas, and other offenses. The report did not specify when the alleged executions took place.

Yonhap cited two South Korean lawmakers who attended a closed parliamentary audit of the National Intelligence Service, the main South Korean spy agency.

North Korea to Become First Country to Shut Borders over Ebola Fear

North Korea will be the first country in the world to shut their borders over fear of the spread of Ebola despite no reported cases of the virus in the reclusive country.

On Friday the Hermit Kingdom will bar entry to foreigners on tourist trips, although it is still unclear if the travel ban would affect members of the diplomatic or business community with ties to Pyongyang.

International travel to North Korea is rare but the country has a track record of sealing its border to foreign visitors over health concerns. In 2003 the country closed its borders because of the threat of SARS, despite not a single case being reported there.