▲ This image, captured from footage from North Korea's Korean Central Television in February 2023, shows a program promoting antivirus measures against COVID-19. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This photo, provided by the Korea Institute for National Unification on Jan. 10, 2024, shows the cover of its annual white paper on North Korean human rights. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

NK human rights-white paper

N. Korea conducts public execution over COVID-19 violations: human rights white paper

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has carried out a public execution of people for violating the country's COVID-19 regulations, a South Korean human rights white paper showed Wednesday.

A North Korean defector who arrived in South Korea last year testified about the public execution, according to the white paper published by the Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run think tank.

Still, it did not elaborate on the details of the public execution, such as when and how it took place, due to concerns about possible reprisals against the North Korean defector's family members and relatives who remain in the North.

The white paper, which also interviewed 70 other defectors who came to South Korea between 2018 and 2023, said it has obtained testimonies signaling a possible decline in public executions but it is too early to conclude whether public executions have actually become less common or whether they are being carried out away from the eyes of the public.

North Korea has long been accused of egregious human rights abuses, ranging from holding political prisoners in concentration camps to committing torture and carrying out public executions.

The white paper said the North has been moving to strengthen its grip on residents by increasing the number of crimes punishable by death by legislating special laws on antivirus measures, drug crimes and access of outside information.

It also showed that North Korea has been blocking access to outside information more strictly.

In 2020, the isolated country adopted a new law on "rejecting the reactionary ideology and culture," which bans people from distributing or watching media originating from South Korea, the United States and other countries.

North Korea is concerned that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to its leader Kim Jong-un.

One defector was quoted as saying that a person was sentenced to seven months of labor in 2019 for watching a South Korean soap opera, while another defector said impromptu crackdowns of computers, mobile phones and voice recorders are common.

The report also pointed out that the health rights of North Koreans are being severely breached due to the apparent collapse of the country's public health system.

Defectors were quoted as saying that they have to individually hire doctors or bribe health officials to receive medical treatment.

The report said that North Korean residents tend to use drugs for medical treatment due to the lack of medicine and medical knowledge, which resulted in cases of fatal drug addiction.

North Korea has been seeking to improve women's rights through policy measures and the social status of women in households has improved due to their bigger economic roles, but women are still exposed to domestic violence and rape in the military, it said.

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