A new United Nations report has revealed that North Korea is increasingly imposing the death penalty for acts such as watching or sharing foreign films and television dramas, while also subjecting citizens to forced labour.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, the regime has tightened control over “all aspects of citizens’ lives” in the past decade, with surveillance becoming “more pervasive.” The report described North Koreans as living under the world’s harshest restrictions.
UN rights chief Volker Türk warned that unless conditions change, citizens will continue to endure “s¥ffering, br¥tal repr+ssion and fear.”
Based on interviews with 300 escapees, the UN found that at least six laws passed since 2015 allow executions for distributing foreign media. Testimonies revealed that public executions by f+ring squad have increased since 2020. One defector, Kang Gyuri, said three of her friends were exec¥ted in 2023 for watching South Korean dramas.
The report also noted worsening h¥nger and repression since Kim Jong Un abandoned diplomacy in 2019 to focus on weapons development. Escapees said the government has restricted people from making a living independently, turning survival into “a daily torment.”
Investigators further reported the recruitment of poor citizens and orphans into hazardous labour “shock brigades,” as well as the continued operation of at least four political prison camps where torture and deaths from abuse remain widespread, despite “a slight decrease in violence by guards.”
The UN called for North Korea’s situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court, urging Pyongyang to end executions, shut prison camps, and introduce human rights education. Türk stressed that many North Koreans, especially the youth, show “a strong desire for change.”
