Capital punishment in North Korea

Capital punishment is a form of punishment in North Korea, allegedly for many offences, which can be grand theft, murder, rape, drug smuggling, treason, espionage, political dissidence, defection, piracy, consumption of media not approved by the government and proselytizing religious beliefs that contradict practiced Juche ideology.[1] Current working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on unverified accounts of defectors (both relatives of victims, and former members of the government).[1] Executions are supposedly mostly carried out by firing squad, hanging or decapitation in public, which, if true, makes North Korea one of the last four countries to still perform public executions, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.[2]

Part of a series on
Human rights in North Korea
Human rights abuses
Political prisons (Kwanliso)
Re-education camps (Kyohwaso)
Abductions and POWs
International reactions

Reported executions

The South-Korean-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights has collected unverified testimony on 1,193 historic executions in North Korea to 2009.[3] Amnesty International reported that there were 105 executions between 2007 and 2012.[4] The Foreign Policy periodical estimated there were 60 executions in 2010.[5] In October 2001, the North Korean government told the UN Human Rights Committee that only 13 executions had occurred since 1998 and that no public execution had occurred since 1992.[1]

On November 3, 2013, according to an unproven JoongAng Ilbo report, at least 80 people were publicly executed for minor offenses. The supposed 'executions' were said to be carried out simultaneously in Wonsan, Chongjin, Sariwon, Pyongsong and three other North Korean cities for crimes such as watching South Korean movies, distributing pornography or possessing a Bible. According to a witness from Wonsan, 10,000 residents were forced to watch when eight people were machine-gunned to death at the local Shinpoong stadium.[6]

On December 13, 2013, North Korean state media announced the execution of Jang Sung-taek, the uncle by marriage of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.[7] The South Korean National Intelligence Service believes that two of his closest aides, Lee Yong-ha and Jang Soo-keel, were executed in mid-November.[8] According to a South Korean newspaper, Jang's nephew, O Sang-hon, was supposedly executed by being burnt alive with a flame thrower.[9][10]

In 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council created a Commission of inquiry on human rights in the DPRK, investigating and documenting alleged instances of executions carried out with or without trial, publicly or secretly, in response to political and other crimes that are often not among the most serious. The Commission determined that these systematic acts, if true, rise to the level of crimes against humanity.[1]

List of reported executions
Date of execution Convict Crime Method Source
20 July 2020 Six unnamed men Sex trafficking Public execution by shooting Radio Free Asia[11]
May 2020 Unnamed woman and man Escape attempt Execution by shooting Radio Free Asia[12]
April 2020 Three unnamed men Theft Execution by shooting Radio Free Asia[13]
February 2020 Unnamed man Quarantine violation Execution by shooting [14]
March 2019 Two unnamed women Fortune-telling Public execution by shooting [15]
10 January 2019 Unnamed man Murder of prison guard Execution by shooting [16]
December 2018 Unnamed man Corruption Public execution by shooting [17]
27 February 2017 5 unnamed men Making false report Execution by shooting [18]
May 2015 Choe Yong-gon Treason
12 December 2013 Jang Song-thaek and 7 unnamed men Treason Execution by shooting
3 January 2011 Unnamed man and unnamed woman Treason Execution by shooting [19]
17 March 2010 Pak Nam-gi Treason Execution by shooting
1997 So Kwan-hui Sabotage Public execution by shooting
1981 Woo In-hee Mistress of Kim Jong-il Public execution by shooting [20]

Public executions

North Korea was alleged to have resumed public executions in October 2007 after they had declined in the years following 2000 amidst international criticism. Prominent supposedly executed criminals include officials convicted of drug trafficking and embezzlement. Common criminals convicted of crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, drug dealing, smuggling, piracy, vandalism, etc. have also been reported to be executed, mostly by firing squad. The country does not publicly release national crime statistics or reports on the levels of crimes.[21] As of 2012, North Korea is allegedly one of four countries carrying out executions in public, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.[2] However, according to defectors interviewed by The Diplomat in 2014, the practice of such activities had not occurred, at least in Hyesan since 2000.[22]

In October 2007, a South Pyongan province factory chief convicted of making international phone calls from 13 phones he installed in his factory basement was supposedly executed by firing squad in front of a crowd of 150,000 people in a stadium, according to an unverified report from a South Korean aid agency called Good Friends.[5][23] Good Friends also reported that six were killed in the rush as spectators left. In another unverified instance, 15 people were allegedly publicly executed for crossing the border into China.[24]

A U.N. General Assembly committee has adopted a draft resolution, co-sponsored by more than 50 countries, expressing "very serious concern" at reports of widespread human rights violations in North Korea, including public executions. North Korea has condemned the draft, saying it is inaccurate and biased. The report was sent to the then 192-member General Assembly for a final vote.[25]

In 2011, two people were allegedly executed in front of 500 spectators for handling propaganda leaflets floated across the border from South Korea, reportedly as part of an unverified campaign by former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to tighten ideological control as he groomed his youngest son as the eventual successor.[26]

In June 2019, a South Korean NGO the Transitional Justice Working Group released an unverified report “Mapping the Fate of the Dead” that suggested 318 sites in North Korea supposedly used by the government for public executions.[27] According to the NGO, public executions have taken place near rivers, fields, markets, schools, and sports grounds. The report alleges that family members and children of those sentenced to death were forced to watch their executions.[28]

Capital punishment in prison camps

Amnesty International has alleged that torture and executions are widespread in political prisons in North Korea.[29] Unverified testimonies describe secret and public executions in North Korean prisons by firing squad, decapitation or by hanging.[30] Executions are allegedly used as a means of deterrence, often accompanied by torture.[31]

See also

Notes
  1. Kirby, Michael Donald; Biserko, Sonja; Darusman, Marzuki (February 7, 2014). "Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -­ A/HRC/25/CRP.1". United Nations Human Rights Council. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Rogers, Simon; Chalabi, Mona (December 13, 2013). "Death penalty statistics, country by country". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  3. White Paper on North Korean Human Rights 2009 (PDF). Seoul: Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. May 31, 2009. ISBN 978-89-93739-03-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  4. "Death penalty statistics, country by country". Datablog. The Guardian. 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  5. Joshua E. Keating (September 22, 2011). "The World's Top Executioners". Foreign Policy. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  6. Lee, Young-Jong (November 11, 2013). "Public executions seen in 7 North Korea cities". 'Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  7. "Even by North Korean standards, this announcement of Jang Song Thaek's execution is intense". Washington Post. December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  8. "Seoul: Kim Jung Un Fires Uncle, Executes his Associates". Voice of Asia News. December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  9. Julian Ryall (April 7, 2014). "North Korean official 'executed by flame-thrower'". The Daily Telegraph.
  10. "N.Korea Shuts Down Jang Song-taek's Department". Chosun Ilbo. April 7, 2014.
  11. "North Korea Publicly Executes Six for Sex Trafficking, Including Four Officials". Radio Free Asia. August 6, 2020.
  12. "North Korea Executes Couple For Trying to Escape to South During COVID-19 Emergency". Radio Free Asia. May 22, 2020.
  13. "North Korea Executes Three Officials For Theft of Emergency Food Supplies". Radio Free Asia. April 2020.
  14. "North Korea executes top official for leaving coronavirus quarantine to go to baths". metro.co.uk. February 13, 2020.
  15. "North Korea Stages Public Executions to Strengthen 'Social Order'". April 10, 2019 – via Radio Free Asia.
  16. "North Korean Inmate Executed By Firing Squad For Killing Prison Guard". January 17, 2019 – via www.ibtimes.com.
  17. "N.Korea's State Guesthouse Chief Executed in Public". chosun.com. February 12, 2019.
  18. "Report: N. Korea executes officials with anti-aircraft guns for 'enraging' Kim Jong Un". CNBC. February 27, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  19. Executions in January 2011
  20. 悲運の女優 禹仁姫（ウ・インヒ）の顔写真 日本で相次いで見つかる. KoreaWorldTimes (in Japanese). October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  21. "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  22. "The Strange Tale of Yeonmi Park". thediplomat.com. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  23. "150,000 Witness North Korea Execution of Factory Boss Whose Crime Was Making International Phone Calls" Archived May 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, November 27, 2007.
  24. Public executions by North Korea is another injustice Archived 2009-01-29 at the Wayback Machine, Amnesty International, March 7, 2008.
  25. "North Korea resumes public executions". A non-profit organization work towards realization of Human rights and protects crime against humanity. English-language version of Pravda. November 26, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
  26. "Public Executions over Leaflets". Parameswaran Ponnudurai. Radio Free Asia (RFA). January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  27. "MAPPING THE FATE OF THE DEAD: KILLINGS AND BURIALS IN NORTH KOREA" (PDF). Transitional Justice Working Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  28. "North Korea: Hundreds of public execution sites identified, says report". BBC News. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  29. "Amnesty: Torture, Execution Rampant in Vast N. Korea Prisons". Voice of Asia News. December 4, 2013. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  30. "Political Prison Camps in North Korea Today" (PDF), Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, 2.1.2 Public and Secret Executions (pp. 455–480), July 15, 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2013, retrieved December 13, 2013
  31. "North Korea: A case to answer – a call to act" (PDF). Christian Solidarity Worldwide. June 20, 2007. pp. 36–37. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
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