Around 80 people were killed in public executions across a number of cities in North Korea earlier this month, a South Korean newspaper reports.

In one city, eight victims were mostly charged with watching or illegally trafficking South Korean videos, being involved in prostitution or being in possession of a Bible.

Accomplices or relatives of the executed people who were implicated in their alleged crimes were sent to prison camps.

The reason for the executions wasn’t immediately clear. They seem to have occurred in cities that are centres of economic development (but not Pyongyang), according to a government official.