Feb. 4 (UPI) -- North Korea is carrying out arbitrary and brutally disproportionate punishments, including executions, against citizens caught watching South Korean television and other foreign media, an Amnesty International report released Wednesday says.
Based on interviews with 25 North Korean escapees, the report documents a system in which secret consumption of South Korean dramas and films is widespread but the consequences, ranging from public humiliation and years in labor camps to execution, vary depending on wealth and connections.
"These testimonies show how North Korea is enforcing dystopian laws that mean watching a South Korean TV show can cost you your life -- unless you can afford to pay," Sarah Brooks, deputy regional director of Amnesty International, said. "The authorities criminalize access to information in violation of international law, then allow officials to profit off those fearing punishment."
The report includes testimony from individuals who fled the isolated state between 2012 and 2020. Choi Suvin, 39, escaped in 2019 and said many North Koreans sell their homes to raise up to $10,000 to bribe officials and avoid harsh punishment.
"People are caught for the same act, but punishment depends entirely on money," she said.
