Tag: human rights
North Korea revises criminal law, but old habits persist
North Korea's criminal law reform has moved through four revisions since 2021. Each one has added changes that look, on paper, like genuine gains...
North Korea revises criminal procedure law, mandates defense counsel
North Korea revised its criminal procedure law in 2022 and again in 2025. The changes shortened detention and investigation periods. They also required defense...
North Korea orders probe into wave of prison deaths
North Korea's Ministry of Social Security has reportedly received a directive to investigate a wave of inmate deaths at correctional facilities nationwide, as authorities...
Family of four found dead in North Korea’s Sakju county amid...
A family of four was found dead in Sakju county, North Pyongan province, in 2026, after reportedly struggling for some time with severe poverty,...
North Korea quietly softens foreign content penalties for officials’ families
North Korea secretly issued a seven-point directive on May 28, 2026, setting out revised enforcement guidelines for cases involving the consumption of foreign media...
Kim Jong Un saves air force commander’s nephew from execution, fueling...
A nephew of North Korean Air Force commander Kim Gwang Hyok was spared from execution after leader Kim Jong Un issued a personal directive...
North Korean soldiers in Ukraine face forced return — a civilian...
The sky over Kyiv hung heavy and gray during the days I spent in Ukraine's capital. Standing before the outer wall of a prisoner...
A mended plastic bag from North Korea tells the story the...
On April 15, the day North Korea marks the birth of founding leader Kim Il Sung with elaborate state celebrations, I was combing through...
North Koreans in China gripped by repatriation fears as bilateral ties...
North Koreans living in China without legal status are growing increasingly anxious as signs emerge of a broader thaw in relations between Pyongyang and...
North Korea shifts education costs onto the public with new funding...
North Korea has formalized a system requiring institutions, enterprises, and ordinary citizens to financially support state education through a newly obtained law, shifting the...
