North Korea has allegedly executed citizens for watching or distributing foreign television programmes, including popular South Korean dramas, according to a United Nations (UN) human rights report released on Friday.
The 14-page report described an intensifying crackdown on personal freedoms, with punishments becoming harsher and surveillance more pervasive. Based on interviews with more than 300 witnesses and victims who fled the country, the review concluded that restrictions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) make it “the most restrictive country in the world.”
“Surveillance has grown more pervasive since 2014 with the help of new technologies, while punishments have become harsher including the introduction of the death penalty for offences such as sharing foreign TV dramas,” the report noted.
James Heenan, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for North Korea, told reporters in Geneva that executions have increased in recent years, particularly after COVID-19 restrictions.
“The number of executions for both normal and political crimes had increased since COVID-19 era restrictions,” he said, adding that “an unspecified number of people have already been executed under the new laws for distributing foreign TV series, including the popular K-Dramas from its southern neighbour.”
The report found that, under laws, policies, and practices introduced since 2015, North Koreans are subjected to “increased surveillance and control in all parts of life.” It also highlighted that, more than a decade after a landmark U.N. investigation accused the country of crimes against humanity, personal freedoms in the DPRK have continued to erode.
North Korea’s diplomatic missions in Geneva and London did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The DPRK, however, has previously rejected U.N. Human Rights Council resolutions, dismissing the findings of such investigations.
The U.N. also raised concerns about the exploitation of children in forced labour programmes. According to Heenan, “Sometimes children are made to work in forced labour, including so-called ‘shock brigades’ for tough sectors such as coal mining and construction. They’re often children from the lower level of society, because they’re the ones who can’t bribe their way out of it, and these shock brigades are engaged in often very hazardous and dangerous work.”
Despite the damning findings, the report acknowledged limited improvements, including a reduction in the use of violence by guards in detention facilities and the introduction of new laws that appear to strengthen fair trial guarantees.
