North Korea's executions surged during COVID-19: Report
What's the story
North Korea witnessed a dramatic increase in executions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG). The Seoul-based non-governmental organization said that from January 2020 to December 2024, at least 153 people were executed or sentenced to death. This is a sharp rise from only 44 people in the five years preceding the pandemic.
Execution rise
Executions peaked in 2020 after border closure
The report highlighted that the number of executions peaked in 2020 after North Korea closed its borders. This isolation allowed the regime to intensify killings amid reduced international scrutiny. The most common offenses leading to death sentences included religion, superstition, and foreign cultural content such as K-dramas and K-pop.
Cultural offenses
Foreign cultural content, political offenses most common capital crimes
The report stated that cases linked to religion, superstition, and foreign culture and information surged by 250%, becoming the most common capital offenses. Political executions also rose sharply, with a 600% increase in condemned individuals for violating Kim's orders or criticizing the leadership. The TJWG report was based on testimonies from 265 North Korean defectors across 51 cities and counties during Kim's rule from December 2011 to December 2024.
Geographic spread
Execution sites expanded from 8 to 19 locations
The report also noted that executions geographically expanded during the pandemic, spreading to 19 localities from eight before COVID-19. The TJWG warned that as North Korea prepares for a fourth-generation hereditary succession with Kim's teenage daughter Ju-ae as his heir apparent, executions could intensify further. Ethan Hee-seok Shin, a legal analyst at the TJWG, urged global action against these human rights violations and said they would present their findings at the World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris.