"Still Alive..."...The Horrific Situation in North Korea Captured by a Defector

Request to Evaluate Kim Jong-un Regime
"How Could I to the Supreme Leader..."

In 2023, when North Korea had closed its borders due to COVID-19, a video showing residents driven to a dire situation was released by a defector.

The appearance of North Korea at the time when it closed its borders due to COVID-19 [Photo source=TBS news capture]

On the 28th, Japan's TBS first revealed footage filmed by defector Kim (early 30s) in April last year in Hwanghae Province, North Korea. At that time, it was the fourth year since North Korea had closed its borders. The video showed a man collapsed alone on the street. When Kim asked a nearby shop owner, "Is the man dead?" the owner replied, "He has been lying there since the afternoon of the previous day. I touched him, but he is not dead yet. It seems he collapsed from starvation, but he looks like he will die soon."

There was also a man begging while smoking a cigarette. When Kim asked, "Are there many starving people in your work unit?" the begging man complained, "There are an enormous number. Even if we are starving, we have no choice but to go to work," adding, "I feel like I am going to die."

Defector Kim escaped North Korea in May last year. Unlike typical defectors who pass through third countries such as China or Russia, he came to South Korea by boat. Regarding his reason for defecting, he said, "If you walk on the street without thinking, someone blows a whistle and conducts a body inspection for reasons like 'Why are you wearing jeans?' or 'Where are you going during work hours?'" He added, "After COVID-19, the North Korean government tightened control over residents even more." The inspection teams also raided residents' homes to take stored rice. When people resisted, saying, "This food was bought with our money, so don't take it," they were told, "Is this land yours? Even the air you breathe belongs to the Workers' Party."

Kim explained, "During the COVID period, you could hear every day in the neighborhood that 'someone's father died' or 'someone's child died,' indicating many people died," and "Murders and robberies happened routinely just to survive." People were even executed for watching South Korean movies or dramas. "On July 26, 2022, a 22-year-old man was shot dead for enjoying South Korean music and movies with friends," he said, "I remember because I saw the execution directly."

When asked how he evaluates the Kim Jong-un regime during the COVID-19 period, he replied, "I don't know. I cannot make political statements," and countered, "Can you say 'this should have been done' about what the supreme leader does?"

On the 22nd, the U.S. Department of State published the '2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,' stating, "North Korea has begun lifting the border closures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are reports that forced repatriations of defectors have resumed." Citing defectors, NGOs, and UN reports, it noted that the North Korean regime is carrying out widespread 'extrajudicial executions' targeting political prisoners and defectors. Extrajudicial executions are executions carried out without formal legal procedures such as trials.

The report also revealed forms of torture, including beatings, electric shocks, water torture, forced nudity, confinement in small cells where prisoners cannot stand or lie down properly, and hanging by the wrists. It exposed the widespread sexual assault and abuse of female prisoners within prisons. It stated that prison guards effectively have immunity and that defectors attempting to escape are subjected to even more severe sexual assault and abuse.