Repression in North Korea has largely worsened over the last decade, with the state increasingly cracking down on citizens trying to access foreign media with harsh punishments, including public executions, a major new U.N. report has found.
The review, covering developments in the country since 2014, found North Korea has tightened its grip on imports of foreign media in recent years, orchestrating public executions to 'instil fear' in the public.
Since 2015, the government has introduced laws criminalising accessing and sharing information from 'hostile' nations and the use of 'linguistic expressions' not in line with prescribed socialist ideology and culture.
Watching foreign films, listening to music or sharing TV dramas from overseas may warrant harsh penalties, including the death penalty, under new laws established over the last decade.
Crackdowns against foreign information in particular were said to have intensified from 2018 and became harsher still from 2020, resulting in several public executions, the report says.
