DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA
2020 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) is an
authoritarian state led by the Kim family since 1949. Shortly after Kim Jong Il’s
death in 2011, his son Kim Jong Un was named marshal of the country and
supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army. His titles also include
chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Worker’s Party of Korea,
chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and supreme representative of the
Korean People. Kim Jong Un’s grandfather, the late Kim Il Sung, remains “eternal
president.” The most recent national elections, held in March 2019, were neither
free nor fair.
The internal security apparatus includes the Ministries of Social Security and State
Security and the Military Security Command. A systematic and intentional
overlap of powers and responsibilities existed between these organizations to
prevent any potential subordinate consolidation of power and assure that each unit
provides a check and balance on the other. Authorities maintained effective
control over the security forces. Members of the security forces committed
numerous abuses.
Significant human rights issues included: unlawful or arbitrary killings by the
government; forced disappearances by the government; torture and cruel, inhuman,
and degrading treatment and punishment by government authorities; harsh and lifethreatening prison conditions, including in political prison camps; arbitrary arrests
and detentions; political prisoners and detainees; politically motivated reprisals
against individuals located outside the country; no judicial independence; arbitrary
or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on free expression, the
press, and the internet, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests
and prosecutions against journalists, censorship, and site blocking; substantial
interference with freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; severe
restrictions of religious freedom; serious restrictions on freedom of movement;
inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair
elections; severe restrictions on political participation; widespread corruption; lack
of investigation of and accountability for violence against women; coerced
abortion and forced sterilization; trafficking in persons; the outlawing of
independent trade unions; the worst forms of child labor; the use of domestic