An Overview of Human Rights in North Korea

To most of the world it appears that the apparent devotion of North Korean citizens to the “Deer Leader” is motivated by fear rather than genuine devotion. Under the close watch of Ministry of People's Security North Korean citizens are required to spy on each other and report any potentially critical conversations they may hear. Those who dare to speak out against Kim Jong-il could find themselves imprisoned in one of the ten concentration camps maintained in North Korea.

It is believed that as many as 200,000 t0 250,000 people are currently held in the camps. In many cases the alleged perpetrators of “political crimes” are not told what they are charged with nor do they have their day in court. Those who dare to speak against the “Dear Leader” are simply arrested without explanation, and taken to the camps. After arriving, they may be tortured for a confession, sentenced to a life of hard labor or in some cases executed.

With the authorities acting on the motto: “Factionalists or enemies of class, whoever they are, their seed must be eliminated through three generations.” the accused is not the only one to suffer as a result of their momentary inability to hold their tongue. Under this motto originally instituted by Kim Il Sung in 1972 and still enforced today the parents, children and in some cases the grandparents of the accused can find themselves in the camps as well.

Travel outside of North Korea is forbidden as is listening to news from any foreign source. Information, including religious sermons is strictly controlled by the government and is geared toward praising the “Dear Leader”. It has been reported that the authorities arrest those who poses un-authorized mobile phones or watch South Korean videos.

Public executions are commonly used as a method of sending a message to would-be political dissidents or those who would attempt to leave North Korea. Hanging and death by firing squad are the preferred methods of carrying out such executions.

The North Korean government maintains the world’s fifth largest military and a research program aimed at developing nuclear weapons and long rang missiles. In stark contrast to the military spending malnutrition is rampant among the average citizens. Almost three quarters of the North Korean populations are currently facing a daily shortage of food. The current crisis is believed to be as bad as the food shortages of the 1990’s when an estimated 3.5 million people died of starvation. South Korea has traditionally been one of the largest donors of rice and fertilizer to the North, Do to strained relations North Korea has failed to request the aid that the general population so desperately needs. Despite the travel ban, many North Koreans are forced to cross the border into China in a desperate attempt to provide food and other supplies for their families.

North Korea is commonly believed to be the most oppressive regime in the modern world. Under the rule of Kim Jong-il, North Korea seems destined to continue to live in isolation as the “secret state”.