A new report by a Seoul-based human rights group has indicated a sharp spike in executions over foreign culture, religion and "superstition" in North Korea.
The Transnational Justice Working Group (TJWG) investigated executions in North Korea before and after the border closure in January 2020, which the country's dictator Kim Jong Un ostensibly ordered to protect the country from the COVID-19 virus. As part of their research, they interviewed 880 defectors from the Kim dictatorship.
They found that 153 people were condemned to death in North Korea between January 2020 and mid-December 2024 on various charges. This marks a jump of nearly 250% compared to the equivalent time period before the January 2020 closure.
However, the jump is even more pronounced when it comes to death sentences related to culture, religion (including owning a Bible) and "superstition." Their data shows 38 people were condemned to death over these offenses in less than five years following January 2020, compared to seven people in the same length of time before that.
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