Ten years after the release of the groundbreaking United Nations Commission of Inquiry report on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which concluded that the regime is committing crimes against humanity, we traveled to the Republic of Korea (South Korea's official name) to meet with victims and survivors, ROK government officials and activists. Our goal was to promote justice and accountability for those responsible for the widespread and systematic abuses underway, to listen to survivors and to explore ways to improve the human rights situation in the DPRK. During our visit, we had the privilege of sharing a meal with a North Korean escapee family in Seoul.
As our meal concluded, we asked: “What does justice mean to you?” Without hesitation, our guests shared their desire for the world to know the truth about the human rights abuses committed by the DPRK government and to expose the brutality of the regime. Here are some of those truths. The DPRK’s repression of its citizens is evolving and worsening.
Kim Jong-un recently enacted three so-called evil laws: the antireactionary thought law, the youth education reform law and the Pyongyang dialect law. These new laws, in contravention of universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, come with severe penalties -- particularly for children. This includes increasingly harsh punishments, including public executions, for watching South Korean media, for example.
Attacks on those deemed disloyal to the.