Executions in North Korea have surged by more than 100% since the pandemic, including for religious activity and “superstitious folk” practices, according to a new report.
The Seoul-based NGO Transitional Justice Working Group compiled its findings from witness testimony provided by North Korean defectors and sources within the country. It said executions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have increased by 117% since it became the first country to close its borders at the start of the pandemic. The report also found that 70% of executions were carried out publicly, with crowds often including schoolchildren forced to watch.
The report warns that laws targeting foreign culture and faith are driving the sharp increase. The ‘Anti-Reactionary and Thought Crime Law’, enacted in 2020, also criminalises the viewing and dissemination of Western and South Korean content such as music and K-dramas.
While capital punishment for the dissemination of Western culture and information (including religious practice) rose by 250%, capital murder cases – previously the most common crime punished by the death penalty – fell by 44%.
The report claims the Kim dynasty has exploited the lack of international scrutiny to increase executions and further control and repress the population.
Dr Ethan Hee-seok Shin, head legal analyst at TJWG, said: “Until the 1940s, Pyongyang was called ‘the Jerusalem of the East’ because of its teeming religious activities before three generations of genocidal persecution by the Kim dynasty. Eight decades later, these communities have been nearly eradicated. Since the pandemic, executions for religious and ‘superstitious’ acts, along with the distribution and consumption of foreign culture and information, have been on the rise to reinstate totalitarian control in a worrying development.”
Dr Shin called on the international community to exert pressure on North Korea to “deter and punish these crimes against humanity of murder”.
Scot Bower, CEO of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, agreed and described human rights in North Korea as “one of the direst in the world”.
“It is often forgotten and overlooked for the crisis of the day,” he said. “We cannot look away. This report highlights the deadly threat faced by religious groups and practitioners of traditional folk religion in North Korea. The Kim regime has slowed executions in the past on the back of international pressure; this advocacy must be resumed through international criminal courts.”