A new report by the Seoul-based human rights group Transnational Justice Working Group (TJWG) has revealed a sharp spike in executions in North Korea for offenses related to foreign culture, religion, and "superstition."

The group interviewed 880 defectors from Kim Jong Un's dictatorship and found that 153 people were condemned to death between January 2020 and mid-December 2024 on various charges. This marks a jump of nearly 250% compared to the equivalent period before the January 2020 border closure.

The increase is even more pronounced for culture, religion (including owning a Bible), and "superstition" charges: 38 people were sentenced to death in less than five years after January 2020, compared to just seven in the same length of time before.

"Prior to the border closure, murder was the most frequently cited capital offense," the activists said. In recent years, "the focus shifted toward offenses involving foreign culture and information, such as South Korean movies, dramas, and music."

Experts say the shift shows Kim Jong Un's regime increasingly using lethal force to ensure loyalty. Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea in Washington DC, stated: "It is already too late for the North Korean regime to put this genie back into the bottle. The number of true believers in the regime is dwindling dramatically. Rather than ideological indoctrination, violence is becoming the regime's preferred option."

Scarlatoiu noted that "the young sons and daughters of North Korean elites dwelling in urban areas are addicted to smuggled South Korean pop culture and American action movies. They will risk their lives to access such information."

In January 2022, a woman in her 20s and her boyfriend were publicly executed in South Pyongan Province for watching and sharing South Korean films and soap operas. The woman was the daughter of a senior member of North Korea's Ministry of State Security, but that did not save her. The rest of her family were sent to a political prison camp.

South Korean academic and activist Song Young-Chae called the situation "appalling but not a surprise." He said: "Kim Jong Un's regime fears music videos and television shows because it is giving his people a glimpse of the world beyond the North's borders and it exposes the lie that they live in a paradise."

Much foreign content entered North Korea via activists who saved material on USB sticks and sent them across the border attached to balloons. Last year, South Korea's government passed legislation banning this practice, hoping to improve ties with Pyongyang. Song described the ban as a "huge mistake," arguing that "if we really want to help the people of North Korea, then we have to give them access to more information."

Source: www.dw.com