The United Nations has raised the alarm over worsening human rights conditions in North Korea, reporting a surge in executions linked to the consumption of foreign films and television dramas.
According to testimonies from more than 300 escapees, citizens caught watching or distributing outside content particularly South Korean dramas are increasingly sentenced to death, often in public, to instill fear.
The report revealed that since 2015, Pyongyang has introduced at least six new laws broadening the scope of crimes punishable by death, placing media offences on the same level as drug trafficking.
Witnesses recounted chilling accounts of friends and relatives executed before firing squads for sharing or possessing foreign content, underscoring the regime’s determination to maintain absolute control over information.
Beyond executions, the UN findings described an escalation in surveillance and restrictions on everyday life since 2020, with advanced monitoring technology enabling authorities to track citizens more closely than ever before. Escapees said the state now exerts “pervasive control” over communications, movement, and even private conversations, deepening an already repressive environment.
The report also highlighted severe economic decline, noting that hopes for better living conditions under Kim Jong Un have been dashed. Since abandoning diplomacy in 2019, North Korea has shifted focus to weapons development while food shortages, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, have left families struggling to survive on one or two meals a day. Informal markets have been heavily restricted, and tightened border controls make escape nearly impossible.
Widespread forced labour remains another grim reality. Vulnerable groups, including orphans and street children, are conscripted into dangerous construction and mining brigades where fatal accidents are common.
Political prison camps, notorious for torture and starvation, continue to operate, with deaths from overwork and malnutrition frequently reported despite minor reductions in visible violence from guards.
The UN is urging urgent international action, including referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court. However, efforts face opposition from China and Russia, who continue to shield Pyongyang from tougher sanctions.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk stressed that the North Korean people especially the youth have a strong desire for change, calling on Pyongyang to abolish political prison camps, halt executions, and respect fundamental freedoms.
