'Evil Leaders' do not explain North Korea's human rights crisis | NK News
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October 11, 2026Oct 11, 2026

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‘Evil Leaders’ do not explain North Korea’s human rights crisis

"Fear and isolation are the main reasons for the North to keep those they distrust in camps" - Geir Helgesen

North Korea refuses to cooperate at any level on the issue of human rights, according to an announcement from the United Nations in early July.

But a recently established investigation commission, led by Australian judge Michael Kirby, seems determined to gather all possible information both from former North Korean citizens now living abroad and, should access be granted, directly from North Korean authorities, even if the latter seems unrealistic at the moment.

Prof. Geir Helgesen, director of the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) in Copenhagen and a long-time researcher of politics and culture on the Korean Peninsula, has analyzed