"Advances in Technology Have Made Surveillance More Sophisticated... Executions on the Rise"
The United Nations human rights report has confirmed that North Korea has brutally executed residents for watching or distributing foreign culture, such as South Korean dramas and K-pop.
On September 12 (local time), the BBC and other British media outlets reported, citing the United Nations human rights report, that North Korea has tightened control over all aspects of its citizens' lives over the past decade, and has designated watching or distributing foreign dramas and movies as grounds for the death penalty.
This report is a follow-up review released ten years after the United Nations officially recognized North Korea's crimes against humanity in 2014. The report points out that the repression of individual freedoms in North Korea has intensified, stating, "Advances in technology have made surveillance more sophisticated, and executions have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic."
The report is based on the testimonies of over 300 people, including North Korean defectors and witnesses.
Kim Ilhyuk, a defector from North Korea, testifying at the United Nations Human Rights Office testimony event held in Seoul last June. Photo by Yonhap News
James Heenan, head of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in North Korea, confirmed, "Some residents who distributed K-dramas were actually executed." Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, also warned of the gravity of the situation, stating, "The oppression and fear that North Korean residents have endured for a long time is deepening."
The report also noted that political prison camps are still in operation and the fate of hundreds of thousands of missing persons, including abducted foreigners, remains unknown. It added that the majority of the 19 recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have yet to be implemented.
These circumstances have been corroborated by the testimony of actual defectors. At a United Nations Human Rights Office testimony event held in Seoul in June this year, North Korean defector Kim Ilhyuk testified, "A 22-year-old young man I knew was publicly executed by firing squad for distributing three South Korean dramas and about 70 K-pop songs." He added, "Public executions were held about twice every three months, and there were cases where 12 people were executed by firing squad at once."
In December 2020, North Korea enacted the Reactionary Thought and Culture Rejection Act, under which distributing South Korean videos is punishable by death, and even watching them can result in up to 15 years in prison. Defectors have reported that this law is being used as the basis for actual punishment, and that increased mobile phone inspections have led to crackdowns on using heart emojis in text messages or saving terms like 'oppa' (a Korean term for an older brother or boyfriend).
Another female defector said, "In the past, if you were caught watching South Korean content, you could get away by paying a few hundred dollars, but recently the amount of bribes has become much larger," adding, "I lived in constant fear, not knowing when I might be executed by firing squad."
The United Nations has called for North Korea's human rights situation to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but discussions on sanctions have been delayed as China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, have repeatedly blocked the process.
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