North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in three weeks to attend the inauguration of a fertilizer factory on Friday, May 1, according to the state media. The appearance follows mounting global speculation over the North Korean leader's health, which gained traction after he skipped the birth anniversary celebrations of his late grandfather, one of the most significant holidays in the country.
However, a new report claims that Kim was missing from the public eye because he was holed up at his private luxury seaside villa in Wonsan along with a harem of 2,000 sex slaves.
Kim's private villa in Wonsan
According to The Sun, the 36-year-old dictator restarted one of his regime's darkest traditions – a "Pleasure Squad" of secret sex entertainers, first initiated by his grandfather. Satellite imagery showing luxury boats used by Kim in addition to his personal train stationed near the Wonsan villa also indicated that he was at the seaside resort.
Following Kim's absence from his grandfather's birthday celebrations, there has been a frenzy of conflicting media reports over his health, with some reports alleging that the leader has passed away after a botched cardiac surgery, some claiming he's in a vegetative state while others said he was paralysed.
However, The Sun claims Kim fled to his secure Wonsan property over fears of contracting the coronavirus, citing intelligence services.
'Pleasure Squad' of 2,000 sex slaves
The report added that Kim's "pleasure squad" of women kept him company at the villa."It's within the walls of his ultra-protected palaces that his Pleasure Squad provides entertainment for high-ranking North Korean officials," the paper reported.
"The 2,000-strong harem is said to be made to sing and dance for the nation's elite — but also take part in bizarre sexual games and orgies." Kim has gained a reputation for his love of booze and fine food and the Pleasure Squad apparently takes care of his carnal pleasures, according to the publication.
Some of the girls are said to have been minors and forced into sex slavery at a very young age. North Korea defectors have alleged that the girls also have to undergo invasive medical examinations to confirm they're virgins before they can become members of the squad.
Kim Il-sung's harem of women
The "Pleasure Squad" or Kippumjo was first initiated during the reign of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, who is still considered the country's Eternal President, despite his death in 1994. In the late 1970s, he sent officials across the nation to scout for its most attractive women and girls to join the club.
Kim Il-sung had a special thing for virgins because he believed having sex with them allowed him to absorb the girls' "ki" or life-force. The girls' parents would be informed that their daughters had been selected to serve Kim Il-sung on an important mission, and they had no say in the matter.
High-ranking officials in the North Korean military would then claim the women as wives after they had "retired" from their sexual duties in their 20s.
Kenji Fujimoto, a sushi chef who worked for the Kims between 1989 and 2001, claimed that Kim Jong-il's brother, Jang Song Thaek, would "audition" girls for the dictator.
"If they were singers, they would sing right there," Fujimoto told NK News. "There would be separate auditions for dancers. The panel would ask them to raise their legs and all that." He added that in order to get the auditions, the girls would first have to engage in sexual intercourse with Jang Song Thaek. Fujimoto was later executed, as reported by NK News.
