Chilling Video of North Korea's Public Trial, Identity Disclosure Standard... Entire Family Expelled from Pyongyang

SAND Research Institute Releases Public Trial Video for the First Time

For the first time, scenes of criminals such as drug offenders and sex workers receiving 'public trials' in North Korea have been revealed.

On the 24th, KBS's 'News Plaza' reported on footage of North Korean trials released by the 'SAND Institute,' which studies North Korean issues. In the video provided by the SAND Institute, hundreds of people are seated around an open-air theater, while men and women wearing masks walk to the center.

These five men and women are criminals who committed crimes such as prostitution, drug offenses, and theft. The North Korean authorities disclosed all personal information of these individuals to the public gathered in the theater, including their names, ages, photos, residences, criminal records, and workplaces.

Criminals on public trial in the theater [Image source=KBS broadcast capture]

Afterwards, the authorities stated, "These people who dare to echo the provocations of the enemy trying to undermine our dignified socialist system must be mercilessly punished as a serious lesson." In North Korea, all crimes are interpreted as 'anti-socialist.' The punishment given to them is expulsion from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

The footage is presumed to have been distributed for resident education purposes. At the time the video was recorded, North Korea had enacted the 'Drug Crime Prevention Law,' and crimes previously handled under the general criminal law were reclassified under special laws to strengthen control and punishment. In particular, those caught illegally harvesting, manufacturing, or smuggling narcotics such as opium can face the death penalty.

Regarding this, Choi Kyung-hee, head of the SAND Institute, explained to KBS, "'Expulsion from Pyongyang' is not only a punishment for the individual criminal but is carried out at the family level," adding, "The entire family must move to an area worse off than Pyongyang, making it a severe and harsh punishment in itself." She pointed out the reason North Korea punishes drug offenders especially harshly: "Previously, drugs were used only by those with money and power who could be controlled, but now it has become widespread even among the lower ranks."

16-year-old boys were also sentenced to labor reform.
[Image source=KBS broadcast capture]

North Korean authorities also appear to be extremely wary of the influx of South Korean culture. On the 19th, it was reported that two 16-year-old boys were publicly tried for watching Korean dramas.

In the footage released by the SAND Institute, two handcuffed boys stand before hundreds of students in an outdoor exercise area. The narrator in the video strongly condemned, "The rotten puppet culture is spreading even to student youths, turning the new generation into victims of reactionary ideological culture." These boys were prosecuted under the 'Law on the Rejection of Reactionary Ideological Culture' and received sentences of 12 years of labor reform.