Photo: Getty
Well, this is awkward.
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on May 02, 2020
The latest news about Kim Jong Un — and his health, or lack thereof — is contradictory, to say the least. While there are some reports that suggest that Kim Jong Un has died as a result of a botched heart operation, there are other reports that are suggesting that the North Korean dictator is alive and well.
These new umors, however, have to be the wildest ones yet: That Kim Jong Un lives on a compound with a so-called 'pleasure squad.'
Does Kim Jong Un have sex slaves?
Let's take a look at what we know about this.
They're known as the Pleasure Squad.
Known for allegedly "servicing" both Kim Jong Un and members of his cabinet, this group of "elite" sex slaves is reportedly known as "The Pleasure Squad" in North Korea. According to one woman who escaped and lived to tell about it, women who are part of Kim Jong Un's Pleasure Squad are required to do all the depraved things he asks for. And, if they refuse, they could easily "disappear."
Rumors about their existence first emerged in 2017.
Hee Yeon Lim is the daughter of a prominent politician in North Korea, and was reportedly a member of Kim Jong Un's Pleasure Squad. She first blew the whistle on its existence back in 2017, shortly after her father died and she was allowed to flee the country.
Some members of the Pleasure Squad are teenagers.
Another former member of the Pleasure Squad, Lee So Yeon, also talked extensively about the Pleasure Squad in an attempt to shed light on the situation. Yeon alleged that she was only 15 when she was "selected" to be a part of the Pleasure Squad, and some of the girls there are as young as 12 or 13 years old when they are first recruited into sex slavery.
North Korea's Olympians are also reportedly used as sex slaves under Kim Jong Un's regime.
When North Korea sent their cheer squad to the Olympics back in 2018, it was alleged that these Olympians were also used as sex slaves before they were allowed to go to the Olympics. For what it's worth, a member of Kim Jong Un's cabinet denied that the athletes were sex slaves.
Many North Korean women are being forced into China's sex trade.
Kim Jong Un's Pleasure Squad aside, many North Korean women are being forced into China's sex trade as we speak. "An investigation by London-based non-profit Korea Future Initiative (KFI) estimates that up to 200,00 North Koreans have fled into mainland China, mostly female. KFI claims that 60% of North Korean refugees in China are trafficked into the sex trade, with 50% of those forced into prostitution, 30% into marriage, and 15% into cybersex," says a rather disturbing report.
There are allgedly more than 2,000 women in the Pleasure Squad.
Kim Jong Un, who is reportedly hold up with his Pleasure Squad to avoid the coronavirus, reportedly has more than 2,000 women in the "group." His location, along with the Pleasure Squad's location, remains unclear as of this writing.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, publicist, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.