The United Nations has released a report containing accounts from North Korean defectors about increased surveillance of their country’s citizens for information and subsequent public trials, including executions at the scene of the crime.
This was reported by Yonhap News.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which advises the UN Secretary-General, released the report on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will be held from February 24 to April 4.
It is stated that the report was compiled based on interviews with 175 North Korean defectors about rights violations committed from the end of 2022 to the end of 2024.
Interviewees described a recent increase in surveillance and control of ordinary citizens through a government task force known as “109 Sangmu”, which is responsible for combating illegal videos, including foreign media content.
“Interviewees told OHCHR that “109 Sangmu” frequently taps phones and electronic devices, conducts warrantless house searches, and confiscates unauthorized videos, publications, radios, and USB drives,” – the report said.
Those arrested were beaten and verbally abused during interrogations, and “criminals” who accessed or distributed banned content were often subjected to public trials, including several cases of execution by firing squad, the report said, citing people interviewed.
OHCHR said its work appeared to be known in North Korea, citing sources who reported that “security officials had received some human rights training and that the treatment of detainees had reportedly improved somewhat due to international monitoring.”
The office also noted demographic changes among North Korean defectors arriving in the South Korea, stating that the number of men who previously worked abroad who fled their jobs and came to the South increased during the reporting period.
OHCHR publishes such a report every two years and submits it to the UN Human Rights Council.