They are plucked from classrooms and subjected to medical tests to check they are virgins before being forced into a life of sexual servitude.

They are the unfortunate souls – some as young as 13 – who are picked to join North Korea's so-called 'Pleasure Squad' to entertain Kim Jong Un and his band of cronies.

Defectors have spoken about attending drunken sex parties where women would have their pubic hair shaved as a forfeit if they lost games.

Kim Jong Un is surrounded by weeping members of the Korean Children's Union. Some schoolgirls (not pictured) are picked from classrooms to join the so-called 'Pleasure Squad' that serves the country's elite

Mobbed: Kim Jong-un smiles as he walks alongside members of North Korea's women's national soccer team

Others were sent on rigorous programs to learn advanced massage training or to sing and dance professionally.

The tradition was established by the dictator's grandfather Kim Il Sung – who is considered the founder of North Korea – and passed down to his son Kim Jong-il.

After his father's death in 2011, Kim Jong Un disbanded the group during the country's official three-year mourning period.

But he has reportedly ordered the recreation of the troupe, known as Gippeumjo, because it was now considered acceptable, it was reported by Chosun Ilbo.

Kim is believed to have ordered the creation of the popular band, pictured sometime in 2012

One source said they are currently staying at the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang undergoing security training.

The despot has demanded his advisers find suitable new women for the role as the previous members retired and were married off to military generals when they hit their early 20s.

The new recruits must apparently 'tall and beautiful'.

North Korean officials have traditionally scoured the countryside for pretty teenagers, who are then taken to Pyongyang to work as dancers, singers or servants for the country's leaders.

Often the most attractive girls are forcibly married off to powerful military generals as a way of rewarding the men for their all-important loyalty to the regime.

Happily married? Kim Jong-un is photographed with his wife Ri Sol-ju in Pyongyang in July 2012

Kim Jong-il's personal 'pleasure troupe' were given $4,000 pay-offs upon his death as compensation because most were taken out of school and moved from their hometowns without the consent of their parents, who were no doubt terrified at what could happen to them if they resisted.

One former member, Mi-Hyang, who fled to South Korea, told how she was taken from her classroom at the age of 15 by two soldiers.

The officials burst in, scanned the room and then ordered her to come with them.