North Korea increased executions over decade: UN report says

The government of North Korea tightened control over its citizens over the last 10 years, using the death penalty more frequently, according to a UN human rights report released Friday. Since 2015, the government has passed at least six new laws instituting the death penalty, according to the report, which was based on more than 300 interviews with North Korean defectors.

What crimes do the new laws punish? Some of the new death penalty laws punish sharing foreign media, including movies and TV shows. Escapees told UN researchers that since 2020, executions for distributing foreign content have occurred more frequently. Firing squads often carry out the executions in public to instill fear, they said, according to the report.

Most escapees also said they suffered hunger, rarely eating three meals a day. The report also found that the government was using more of its citizens for forced labor, and that advances in technology made surveillance of its citizens much more pervasive. 

Dig deeper: Read my report on South Korean companies’ hesitation to invest in the U.S. economy after an immigration raid.