In a chilling new report, the United Nations has found that North Korea is executing an increasing number of its citizens for the act of watching and distributing foreign films and TV shows, a stark escalation of the regime’s efforts to isolate its people from the outside world. The report, which is based on interviews with over 300 escapees, paints a grim picture of a nation where even a glimpse of foreign culture is a capital offense.
The UN Human Rights Office concluded that North Korea is more repressive and isolated than at any time in its recent history. The report notes that new laws introduced since 2015 allow for severe punishments, including the death penalty, for acts such as sharing foreign media. The UN’s head of office working on DPRK, James Heenan, stated that they have “credible evidence that individuals have been executed” for distributing foreign content. Witnesses recounted being forced to attend public trials and executions designed to instill fear and deter dissent. The report describes the government’s crackdown as a way “to block the people’s eyes and ears” and to eliminate “even the smallest signs of dissatisfaction or complaint.”
This extreme measure is a testament to the regime’s fear of the ideological threat posed by outside information. South Korean dramas, with their portrayals of wealth, freedom, and everyday life, are particularly feared, as they directly contradict state propaganda that claims South Korea is a poor and subjugated nation. The UN report found that mass surveillance has become more widespread, with technology being used to monitor citizens in all parts of their lives.
Despite these findings, North Korea continues to reject the UN’s human rights resolutions. The report reminds the international community of its obligation to hold the regime accountable for international crimes, including the use of torture, forced labor, and forced disappearances. It is a powerful reminder that while the world is consumed by global conflicts, a forgotten population remains subjected to what the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called a decade of “suffering, brutal repression, and fear.”