Overview

• The OHCHR assessment, released Friday, says North Korea has become the most restrictive country over the past decade, drawing on 314 interviews with escapees since 2014.
• Laws adopted since 2015 have broadened capital punishment to include watching or distributing foreign films and TV, with public trials and firing-squad executions reported more frequently since 2020.
• State control has tightened through expanded surveillance technologies and warrantless inspections of devices and homes, while stricter border controls have made fleeing the country increasingly difficult.
• Forced labour has widened through so-called shock brigades that include orphans, street children and students in hazardous work, and at least four political prison camps remain operational alongside reports of torture and deaths from overwork and malnutrition.
• The report notes limited improvements such as a slight decrease in guard violence and some fair-trial legal changes, as North Korea rejects the findings and Security Council vetoes by China and Russia constrain accountability efforts.