North Korea executes more people for watching foreign films, UN report finds

Published on 12/09/2025 - 18:03 GMT+2

North Korea appears to beryllium expanding its usage of the decease punishment for actions similar watching oregon sharing overseas films, a caller large UN study has found.

Evidence suggests that forced labour astatine sites specified arsenic ember mines is besides becoming much communal successful the isolated country, according to the UN Human Rights Office.

Orphans and members of mediocre families are often targeted for specified unsafe work, it noted.

Based connected interviews with much than 300 radical who person escaped the state implicit the past decade, the study concluded that North Korea is much closed disconnected than ever.

Its residents are “subjected to unremitting propaganda by the authorities for their full lives”, with restrictions worse determination than successful immoderate different country, the UN concluded.

One escapee said that accrued crackdowns successful caller years were intended to “to artifact the people’s eyes and ears”.

“It was a signifier of power aimed astatine eliminating adjacent the smallest signs of dissatisfaction oregon complaint,” they added.

Publicly changeable by firing squads to discourage others

Since Kim Kong-un took powerfulness aft his father’s decease successful 2011, much laws person been introduced that let for the decease penalty. One concerns the viewing and organisation of foreign-made media content.

North Korean interviewees told the UN that from 2020 determination person been much executions based connected this law.

Those recovered blameworthy are changeable by firing squads successful nationalist successful a bid to discourage others from pursuing suit, escapees said.

Meanwhile, the country’s colonisation inactive has its close to nutrient violated, with authorities policies liable for hunger, the study suggested.

Speaking astir the findings of the report, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk described the past 10 years arsenic “a mislaid decade” for North Korea.

“And it pains maine to accidental that if (North Korea) continues connected its existent trajectory, the colonisation volition beryllium subjected to much of the suffering, brutal repression and fearfulness that they person endured for truthful long,” helium said.

“The hundreds of interviews conducted during the people of this reporting shows a wide and beardown tendency for change, peculiarly among young people," Türk added.