Severe deterioration of human rights in North Korea: death penalty for consuming foreign films and information
The hermit nation are stepping up their efforts to keep foreign media content away from the country.
Look away, Donald. This is a bad idea, and you don’t need to know about it.
North Korea has escalated its repression by imposing the death penalty on citizens who consume or distribute foreign media, including movies, music, and publications from countries deemed “hostile.” This move is part of a broader strategy to eliminate external influences, particularly South Korean culture, which the regime views as a threat to its authority.
A recent United Nations report highlights a significant deterioration in human rights within the country. Based on interviews with “314 victims and witnesses who had left the country”, the report reveals that since 2015, surveillance has intensified, and punishments for nonconformity have become more severe.
“Control by the Government over its citizens has tightened increasingly”
“No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” the report says, adding that “the human rights landscape cannot be divorced from the broader isolation that the State is currently pursuing.”
The government has institutionalised forced labour, especially targeting children from impoverished backgrounds for hazardous tasks in sectors like mining and construction. Additionally, the population faces chronic food insecurity, with more than 40% suffering from malnutrition.
Despite Kim Jong-un’s recent efforts to project an image of international openness, the regime remains one of the most isolated and repressive in the world. The UN report describes the past decade as a “lost decade” for North Koreans, subjected to relentless state propaganda and severe restrictions on their rights and freedoms.
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“The human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has not improved overall since 2014,” the report concludes, “and in many instances, has degraded. Since 2014, control by the Government over its citizens has tightened increasingly... citizens have been subjected to increased surveillance and control in all parts of life.”
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