North Korea has ‘expanded’ executions under crackdown on foreign media, UN finds | NK News
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September 30, 2026Sep 30, 2026

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North Korea has ‘expanded’ executions under crackdown on foreign media, UN finds

Activists criticize lack of new info in update to COI report, which states human rights have deteriorated since 2014

North Korea has “significantly expanded” its use of the death penalty for a broad range of crimes over the past decade, including carrying out public executions of people caught distributing foreign media such as South Korean dramas, according to a new U.N. report.

The 14-page document released by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday marks the first follow-up to the landmark 2014 Commission of Inquiry (COI) report, aiming to provide updates on the country’s human rights situation and implementation of the commission’s recommendations.

Based on interviews and testimonies from some 300 defectors