SEOUL — Those suggesting an association between Kim Jong Un’s wife and the rumored execution of the Unhasu Music group will be severely punished, North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

In August, a group of performers from the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Art Troupe and Moranbong Band were executed by firing squad on suspicion of producing and appearing in a pornographic video — thus violating domestic law, unnamed sources in South Korean and Japanese media said.

On Saturday, reports emerged that said that the musicians were actually executed in order to protect the reputation of Kim’s wife, Ri Sol