According to a report by the UN Human Rights Office, the North Korean government is increasingly applying the death penalty, even for people who have watched or shared foreign films and television series.

Kim's regime is also increasing forced labor and further restricting the freedoms of its citizens. The UN notes that over the past decade, North Korea has tightened control "over all aspects of its citizens' lives."

"No other society today lives under such strict restrictions," the report says, noting that North Koreans are monitored "everywhere" through new technologies.

The study, based on more than 300 interviews with North Koreans who have managed to escape over the past decade, finds that at least six new laws providing for the death penalty have been introduced since 2015. The death penalty can now be imposed for offenses such as watching and distributing foreign audiovisual content, part of Kim's efforts to restrict citizens' access to information.

Reports indicate that since 2020, public executions have increased, often by firing squad, to instill fear and deter people from violating the regime's restrictive laws. Kang Gyu-ri, who escaped in 2023, told the BBC that three of her friends were executed for possessing South Korean content.

When Kim Jong-un took power in 2011, many North Koreans believed their lives would improve, as the new leader promised that "they would no longer have to tighten their belts" and that he would strengthen the economy while protecting the country through its nuclear program.

However, after 2019 and the severing of diplomatic channels with the West, life deteriorated dramatically, accompanied by even more brutal human rights violations.

Almost all refugees report that they do not have enough food and that three meals a day are a "luxury." During the Covid-19 pandemic, many people died of starvation. At the same time, the government restricted informal markets, which supported many families financially, and tightened controls on the border with China, ordering soldiers to shoot at those trying to escape. | BGNES