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- Listening to foreign music or watching films in a foreign language are considered criminal activities. In 2015, Kim Jong Un issued a decree to scrap all cassette tapes and CDs which had state-banned songs in order to contain dissent.
- Making international calls is a crime. In 2007, a man who made several international calls was killed.
- Falling asleep in a meeting while Kim speaks could fetch a capital punishment. North Korean defence minister Hyon Yong-chol was executed in 2015 with an anti-aircraft gun in front of over 100 people for having fallen asleep during one of Kim Jong Un's events.
- Anything that disrespects the family of Kim Jong Un, the North Korean government or the politicians is considered an act of blasphemy and may be met with severe punishment.
- Freedom of Movement and Information
- Forced Labor
- Pretrial Detention, Due Process Violations, and Torture
- Marginalized Groups
- Covid-19
- Key International Actors
Moving from one province to another or abroad without prior approval remains illegal in North Korea. North Korea continued jamming Chinese mobile phone services at the border and arresting persons caught communicating with people outside the country, a violation of the right to information and free expression. Networks that facilitate North Koreans...
The North Korean government routinely and systematically requires forced, uncompensated labor from most of its population—including women and children through the Women’s Union or schools; workers at state-owned enterprises or deployed abroad; detainees in hard labor detention centers (rodong dallyeondae); and prisoners at ordinary prison camps (ky...
The North Korean government’s pretrial detention and criminal investigation system remained arbitrary, violent, cruel, and degrading. Ordinary citizens have no access to North Korea’s laws, which are vaguely worded and lack definitions. Law enforcement agencies and courts are controlled by the Workers’ Party of Korea, and connections and money are ...
The North Korean government uses songbun, a socio-economic political classification system created at the country’s founding that groups people into varying classes including “loyal,” “wavering,” or “hostile,” discriminating against lower classed persons in areas including employment, residence, and schooling. Pervasive corruption allows some maneu...
In 2020, the North Korean government imposed various restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While some measures that limited rights were justified by public health exigencies, others were not necessary or not proportionate and permitted grave abuses under the pretext of protecting against the spread of Covid-19. For instance, the govern...
North Korea has ratified five human rights treaties, but it has ignored its obligations under all of them. A 2014 UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea found that the government committed gross, systematic, and widespread rights abuses, including extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions, an...
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has officially acknowledged the widespread human rights violations that regularly occur in North Korea. [33] United Nation's Human Rights Resolution 2005/11 referred to specific types of abuses within North Korea:
Apr 23, 2024 · After the start of the pandemic in 2020, the North Korean government built new and expanded fences and guard posts at its borders and strictly enforced rules, including a standing order for...
Jun 17, 2020 · Updated. Last updated June 17, 2020 8:00 am (EST) Summary. The Kim family, specifically Supreme Leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un, has ruled North Korea since 1948. Current...
- Eleanor Albert
Jun 15, 2023 · Under the tyrannical rule of Kim Jong Un, North Koreans are forbidden from making contact with the outside world. With the help of the organisation Daily NK, which operates a network of...
North Korea has a codified civil law system, which was inherited from colonial Japan and is similar to South Korea's system. As of December 2015, there were 236 laws and regulations, about half of which relate to economic management.
