A North Korean man who smuggled 'Squid Game' into the country is to be executed by firing squad and a high-school student who bought a USB drive with the show will be jailed for life, report says

• North Korea appears to have come down hard on people who distribute or watch "Squid Game."

• Citing unnamed sources, Radio Free Asia said a man there was sentenced to death for smuggling it.

• Seven high-school students received harsh sentences for watching the show, RFA reported.

North Korea appears to have come down hard on people who distribute or watch Netflix's hit show "Squid Game."

A report by Radio Free Asia cited unnamed sources inside North Korea as saying a man who smuggled and sold the dystopian drama had been sentenced to death by firing squad and a high schooler who bought a USB drive containing the show was sentenced to life in prison.

Another six high schoolers who watched the show were said to be sentenced to five years of hard labor, RFA reported. Their supervisors were also said to be punished, with teachers and school administrators fired, possibly to be banished to work in remote mines, RFA said.

RFA is a US government-funded nonprofit news service that serves audiences in Asia. It says its aim is to "provide accurate and timely news and information to Asian countries whose governments prohibit access to a free press."

The South Korean television series "Squid Game" tells the story of 456 debt-laden people competing for 45.6 billion won, or $38.3 million, of prize money in brutal survival games.

A law-enforcement source in North Korea's North Hamgyong province told RFA's Korean service: "This all started last week when a high-school student secretly bought a USB flash drive containing the South Korean drama 'Squid Game' and watched it with one of his best friends in class. The friend told several other students, who became interested, and they shared the flash drive with them." The students were caught by government censors after a tip-off, the source told RFA.