North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the execution of 10 top public officials and degraded 50 others for watching South Korean soap operas, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean deputy Lee Cheol Woo also confirmed the executions in the National Intelligence Service's meeting in Seoul, but did not reveal the identities of the executed.

Watching foreign broadcasts and productions is forbidden in North Korea, and subject to severe punishments such as hard labor, prison or death.