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A significant UN report reveals that the North Korean government is increasingly using the death penalty, even for offenses like watching and sharing foreign films and TV shows. The report, based on interviews with over 300 defectors, highlights that the dictatorship, which is largely isolated from the rest of the world, has intensified its control over all aspects of citizens’ lives over the past decade.
The UN Human Rights Office concluded that no other population in the world faces such severe restrictions. Surveillance has become more widespread, aided by technological advancements. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned that if the situation continues, North Koreans will endure even more suffering and brutal repression.
Since 2015, at least six new laws have been implemented that allow for capital punishment, including for possessing foreign media. Defectors told researchers that since 2020, executions for distributing foreign content have become more frequent, often carried out by firing squads in public to instill fear. One defector, Kang Gyuri, shared that three of her friends were executed for having South Korean media. She noted that such crimes are now treated as severely as drug offenses.
When Kim Jong Un took power in 2011, many had hoped for improved living conditions. However, the report states that human rights and living conditions have deteriorated, especially after 2019 when Kim abandoned diplomacy with the West to focus on his nuclear weapons program.
According to almost all defectors, food scarcity is a major issue, with three meals a day considered a luxury. The government has also cracked down on informal marketplaces and tightened border controls, with orders to shoot those attempting to flee.
The UN report also noted the widespread use of forced labor, with people from impoverished families being conscripted into “shock brigades” for dangerous work in mining and construction. Orphans and homeless children have also been forced into such labor. While some defectors reported a slight decrease in violence by guards in prisons, overall conditions remain dire.
The UN has called for the situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court, but previous attempts have been blocked by China and Russia in the UN Security Council.
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