Execution of Smugglers and Money Changers Reported by US Media
Growing Concerns over North Korean Human Rights in the US
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] American media reported that a North Korean fishing boat captain was recently executed for listening to Radio Free Asia (RFA).
On the 21st (local time), political media outlet The Hill cited RFA reporting that a North Korean fishing boat captain in his 40s admitted to listening to RFA for over 10 years and was publicly executed in front of about 100 other captains. RFA broadcasts to North Korea with support from U.S. authorities.
RFA reported this four days earlier on the 17th. Citing North Korean judicial authorities, RFA stated, "In mid-October, a fishing boat captain from Chongjin was executed by firing squad for regularly listening to RFA over a long period." They added, "The captain's surname is Choi, he is in his 40s, and worked at a fishing base under the Central Party's 39th Bureau."
RFA's report is raising concerns about the spread of public executions within North Korea. The public executions serve as evidence that a reign of terror is being enforced amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
Smugglers who violated COVID-19 quarantine guidelines, a major currency exchanger in Pyongyang, and officials who embezzled strategic materials are reported to have been executed. The North Korean military also shot a South Korean official in the West Sea and burned the body.
As concerns over human rights improvements in North Korea continue, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the North Korea human rights resolution for the 16th consecutive year on the 16th.
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