Crime is present in various forms in North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Crime is present in various forms in North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Many people in North Korea are stricken with poverty and as a result, often resort to extreme measures in order to survive. Several defectors have reported hearing rumours that murder and cannibalism is rife in the country; these rumours first arose during the Great Famine of 1994 to 1998. [1]
The Korea Institute for National Unification's 2014 White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea lists twelve public executions between 2004 and 2010 for the crime of murder. Murder victims included lovers, a spouse, a creditor, and a hospital administrator. [2]
In North Korea, any perceived criticism of the country's political leaders is seen as a grave offense. Treason is also taken very seriously; traitorous behaviour may include attempting to escape to South Korea, or simply praising any aspect of South Korean culture. Crossing the northern border into China or Russia is also illegal, but this law is less strictly enforced, due to the sheer number of North Koreans driven across the border in search of employment. [3]
Criticism or rejection of socialist principles, or idleness in upholding these principles, is another serious political crime. This category of offence includes anything which threatens the socialist system – for example, running a private business, or stealing agricultural goods such as corn, rice or potatoes. [3]
A small number of American citizens have been charged in North Korea for alleged crimes against the nation. This encompasses illegally trespassing into the country or displaying signs of hostility towards the country. Two reporters from the United States were sentenced to penal labour after being found guilty of crimes against the nation. They were freed later the same year, when Bill Clinton visited the then-North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to negotiate their release. In April 2013, American tour operator Kenneth Bae, also known as Pae Jun Ho, was accused of plotting to overthrow the North Korean government. State media reported that there was evidence to substantiate the claim. He has since been released and allowed to return to the United States. According to the law of North Korea, such an act is punishable either by a life sentence in prison, or death. [4] In 2016, Otto Warmbier, an American college student, was arrested by North Korean authorities at Pyongyang International Airport, while ready to leave the country. Warmbier was part of an organized tour group that had toured the country before his arrest. North Korean authorities accused Warmbier of stealing a propaganda poster from a hotel. Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. [5] While in custody, Warmbier fell into a coma due to unconfirmed cause, and was freed after 17 months of custody, but never regained consciousness. Warmbier died in 2017. [6]
Prostitution in North Korea is illegal and, according to the North Korean government, does not exist. [7] However, the government is reported to employ approximately 2,000 women, known as the Kippumjo , to provide sexual services for high-ranking officials. [8] There is also widespread human trafficking within the country; women and girls are often sold abroad, mostly to China, where they are subjected to forced prostitution or forced marriage. Others may willingly migrate to China, only to be kidnapped by traffickers on arrival. [9]
Corruption in North Korea is a widespread and growing problem in the country. It is ranked 174 out of 176 countries in Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with Somalia and Afghanistan, [10] making the country one of the "'most corrupt' nations on Earth".[ citation needed ] Strict rules and draconian punishments imposed by the regime against, for example, accessing foreign media, are commonly evaded by bribing the police. Informing on colleagues and family members has become less common. [11]
The human rights record of North Korea has been condemned, with the United Nations and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of it. Amnesty International considers North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.
Human rights in South Korea are codified in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which compiles the legal rights of its citizens. These rights are protected by the Constitution and include amendments and national referendum. These rights have evolved significantly from the days of military dictatorship to the current state as a constitutional democracy with free and fair elections for the presidency and the members of the National Assembly.
The legality of prostitution in Asia varies by country. There is often a significant difference in Asia between prostitution laws and the practice of prostitution. In 2011, the Asian Commission on AIDS estimated there were 10 million sex workers in Asia and 75 million male customers.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in North Korea may face social challenges due to their sexuality or gender identity. However, homosexuality is not illegal. Other LGBT rights in the country are not explicitly addressed in North Korean law.
Prostitution in North Korea is illegal and is not visible to visitors. Accounts given by some North Korean defectors say that a collection of women called the kippumjo provided sexual entertainment to high-ranking officials until 2011. Meanwhile, some North Korean women who migrate to China become involved in prostitution.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in North Korea. It is used for many offences such as 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. Owing to the secrecy of the North Korean government, working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on anonymous sources, accounts of defectors and reports by Radio Free Asia, a United States government-funded news service that operates in East Asia. The country allegedly carries out public executions, 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, but this has been disputed by some defector accounts.
Prisons in North Korea have conditions that are unsanitary, life-threatening and are comparable to historical concentration camps. A significant number of inmates have died each year, since they are subject to torture and inhumane treatment. Public and secret executions of inmates, even children, especially in cases of attempted escape, are commonplace. Infanticides also often occur. The mortality rate is exceptionally high, because many prisoners die of starvation, illnesses, work accidents, or torture.
South Korea has a relatively low crime rate compared to other industrialized countries.
Though the Cuban government does not release official crime statistics, Cuba is considered one of the safer countries in Latin America. Gun crime is virtually nonexistent, drug trafficking has been largely curtailed, and there is below-average crisis intervention from police. Murder rates are also below those of most Latin American countries, with an intentional homicide rate of 5.00/100,000 inhabitants in 2016, lower than any other country in the region.
Crime is present in various forms in Myanmar and is continuous with the activities of many drug trafficking financed militias at the eastern and western border regions, and with corruption within and challenges to the central government.
The alleged illicit activities of the North Korean state include manufacture and sale of illegal drugs, the manufacture and sale of counterfeit consumer goods, human trafficking, arms trafficking, wildlife trafficking, counterfeiting currency, terrorism, and other areas. It is alleged many of these activities are undertaken at the direction and under the control of the North Korean government and the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, with their proceeds going towards advancing the country's nuclear and conventional arms production, funding the lifestyles of the country's elite, and propping up the North Korean economy.
Otto Frederick Warmbier was an American college student who was imprisoned in North Korea in 2016 on a charge of subversion. In June 2017, he was released by North Korea in a vegetative state, and died soon after his parents requested his feeding tube be removed.
The Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the landmark document resulting from the investigations on human rights in North Korea commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2013 and concluded in 2014.
The Central Court is the supreme court and the highest organ in the judiciary of North Korea.
Sex trafficking in China is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the People's Republic of China. It is a country of origin, destination, and transit for sexually trafficked persons.
The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, that conducts data collection, analysis, and monitoring of human rights violations experienced in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. NKDB not only offers resettlement support, psychological counseling, and educational opportunities, but also advocates for human rights advancement and transitional justice of past human rights violations in the DPRK.
While abortion in North Korea has been illegal for most of the country's history, its abortion laws have often been loosely enforced. During the 1970s, abortion seems to have been generally tolerated and modern contraceptives were widely available. Abortion was made legal in 1983 and banned again in 1993. A law passed in 2015 banned birth control devices and imposed fines and imprisonment for people who provide abortions. A lack of contraceptives and abortion services in hospitals has led to a rise in unsafe abortions.
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