Capital punishment is a legal penalty in North Korea. It is used for many offenses, such as grand theft, murder, rape, drug smuggling, treason, espionage, political dissent, defection, piracy, consumption of media not approved by the government and proselytizing religious beliefs that contradict the practiced Juche ideology. Owing to the secrecy of the North Korean government, working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on anonymous sources, accounts of defectors (both relatives of victims, and former members of the government) and reports by Radio Free Asia, a United States government-funded news service that operates in East Asia. The country allegedly carries out public executions, which, if true, makes North Korea one of the last four countries that still performs public executions, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia, but this has been disputed by some defector accounts.
Reported executions
The South-Korean-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights has collected unverified testimony on 1,193 historic executions in North Korea through 2009. Amnesty International reported that there were 105 executions between 2007 and 2012. The Foreign Policy periodical estimated there were 60 executions in 2010. In October 2001, the North Korean government told the UN Human Rights Committee that "only 13" executions had occurred since 1998 and that no public execution had occurred since 1992.
On December 13, 2013, North Korean state media announced the execution of Jang Sung-taek, the uncle by marriage of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. The South Korean National Intelligence Service believes that two of Kim Jong Un's closest aides, Lee Yong-ha and Jang Soo-keel, were executed in mid-November.
In 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council created a Commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, investigating and documenting alleged instances of executions carried out with or without trial, publicly or secretly, in response to political and other crimes that are often not among the most serious. The Commission determined that these systematic acts, if true, rise to the level of crimes against humanity.
List of reported executions
| Date of execution | Convict | Crime | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Kim brothers and Ri | Escape attempt | Public execution by machine gun fire | Radio Free Asia |
| January 10, 2025 | Two nuclear power plant researchers | Failing to meet technical targets set by the Central Committee | Unspecified | Daily NK |
| August 31, 2024 | Ri (39F) and Kang (43F) | Aiding an escape attempt | Public execution | NDTV |
| August 2024 | 20–30 party officials | Corruption and dereliction of duty in failure to prevent the Yalu river flooding, which killed 5,000 people | Unspecified | Newsweek |
| December 19, 2023 | Unnamed 23-year old man | Murder–robbery | Public execution by firing squad | Radio Free Asia |
| September 25, 2023 | Unnamed 40-year old man | Stealing medicine | Public execution by firing squad | Radio Free Asia |
| August 30, 2023 | Nine unnamed people | Smuggling beef | Public execution by firing squad | Radio Free Asia |
| March 2023 | Unnamed pregnant woman | Political dissent | Unspecified | Hindustan Times |
| March 2023 | Six unnamed teenagers | Watching South Korean movies and using drugs | Execution by shooting | Hindustan Times |
| October 2022 | Two unnamed teenagers | Distributing South Korean movies | Public execution by firing squad | Radio Free Asia |
| October 2022 | Unnamed teenager | Murder of stepmother | Public execution by firing squad | Radio Free Asia |
| April 2022 | Unnamed 22-year-old man | Distributing South Korean media | Public execution by firing squad | South Korea's Unification Ministry, BBC |
| January 2022 | Unnamed man and woman | Distributing South Korean movies | Public execution by firing squad | Daily NK |
| March 2, 2021 | Three unnamed men and one unnamed woman | Distributing South Korean movies | Public execution by firing squad | Daily NK |
| July 20, 2020 | Six unnamed men | Sex trafficking | Public execution by shooting | Radio Free Asia |
| May 2020 | Unnamed woman and man | Escape attempt | Execution by shooting | Radio Free Asia |
| April 2020 | Three unnamed men | Theft | Execution by shooting | Radio Free Asia |
| February 2020 | Unnamed man | Quarantine violation | Execution by shooting | |
| March 2019 | Two unnamed women | Fortune-telling | Public execution by shooting | |
| January 10, 2019 | Unnamed man | Murder of prison guard | Execution by shooting | |
| December 2018 | Unnamed man | Corruption | Public execution by shooting | |
| December 2018 | Unnamed person | Fortune telling | Public execution; method unspecified | |
| November 17, 2018 | Unnamed woman | Fortune telling | Execution by shooting | Daily NK |
| 2018 | Male military officer | Embezzlement | Unspecified | |
| 2018 | Two unnamed people | Unspecified | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2018 | Unnamed woman | Unspecified | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| February or March 2018 | Unnamed man | Unspecified | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| January 2018 | Unnamed woman | Unspecified | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| January 2018 | Unnamed woman in her 30s | Drug-related murder | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2017 | Unnamed man | Distributing South Korean movies | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| December 2017 | Unnamed woman | Unspecified | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| April 2017 | One man | Extortion, murder, theft | Secret execution; method unspecified | Daily NK |
| February 27, 2017 | Five unnamed men | Making false report | Execution by shooting | |
| February 2017 | 20 unnamed people | Watching South Korean movies and drug trading | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2016 | Unnamed man | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| May 2015 | Choe Yong-gon | Treason | Unspecified | [citation needed] |
| March 2015 | Five men in their 30s and 40s | Watching South Korean movies and drug trade | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2015 | Six people | Conducting Christian worship | Execution by shooting | |
| October 2014 | Three unnamed men | Distrbuting South Korean movies | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2014 | Two unnamed men | Distributing South Korean movies and procuring prostitution | Execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2014 | Unnamed man | Distributing South Korean movies and drug trading | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 2014 | Unspecified | Conducting Shamanism | Unspecified | USCIRF |
| 2014 | 49-year-old man | Calling relative in South Korea | Unspecified | |
| 2013 | Two university students | Watching South Korean adult videos | Execution by shooting | KINU |
| December 12, 2013 | Jang Song-thaek and 7 unnamed men | Treason | Execution by shooting | [citation needed] |
| November 2013 | 30-year old man | Drugs, illegal video recordings, and rape | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| October 2013 | Three people (including one man and one woman) | Selling drugs | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| January 2013 | Two men | South Korean video recordings | Unspecified | KINU |
| December 4, 2011 | Three men and one woman | Selling drugs | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| September 2011 | A lesbian couple | Corruption of public morals | Unspecified | |
| July 2011 | 45-year-old man | Selling drugs | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| April 2011 | Child and Grandmother | Conducting Christian worship | Execution by firing squad | |
| January 3, 2011 | Unnamed man and unnamed woman | Treason | Execution by shooting | |
| October 2010 | Two men and two women | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| July 2010 | Two men and four women | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| May 2010 | Unnamed man | Selling South Korean compact discs | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| March 17, 2010 | Pak Nam-gi | Treason | Execution by shooting | [citation needed] |
| February 2010 | Unnamed man | Rape of a minor | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| November 2009 | Four people | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| September 2009 | Four people | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| July 2009 | 34-year-old man | Rape and murder | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| June 2009 | Unnamed man | Rape | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| May 2009 | Two men in their 20s and one woman in her 40s | Aiding escape attempt | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| October 2008 | Unnamed woman | Selling South Korean compact discs | Public execution | KINU |
| September 2008 | 50-year-old man | Selling drugs | Public execution | KINU |
| Summer 2008 | Four men and one woman | Selling drugs | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| May 2008 | 26-year old man | Human trafficking | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| March 2008 | Three women | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| 30 January 2008 | Seven people | Selling drugs | Public execution | KINU |
| January 2008 | Unnamed man | Murdering a four-year old child | Public execution | KINU |
| 2007 | Seven people | Stealing and selling rice and gasoline | Public execution | KINU |
| 2007 | Man and woman | Smuggling protected trees to China | Public execution | KINU |
| December 2007 | Kim Young-man | Selling drugs | Public execution | KINU |
| 26 December 2007 | 59-year old man and another man | Selling sex videotapes and a South Korean movie DVD | Public execution | KINU |
| 25 December 2007 | Three men, including a 45-year-old and a woman | Selling drugs | Public execution | KINU |
| 22 December 2007 | Four unnamed men | Smuggling | Public execution (2), secret execution (2) | KINU |
| November 2007 | Unnamed official | Taking bribes | Public execution | KINU |
| 5 October 2007 | 75-year old man | Converting phone lines to facilitate calls with outside world | Public execution | KINU |
| Early September 2007 | Unnamed man | Smuggling lumber | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| September 2007 | Army sergeant | Murder-robbery | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| August 2007 or later | Mak-kong (50M) | Gambling | Public execution | KINU |
| July 2007 | 41-year old man | Receiving money from South Korea | Public execution | KINU |
| July 2007 | College student | Murdering his pregnant girlfriend | Public execution | KINU |
| July 2007 | Unnamed man | Selling drugs | Public execution | KINU |
| 25 July 2007 | Man and woman | Gambling, drug selling, selling sex magazines and videotapes, as well as embezzlement | Public execution | KINU |
| July 10, 2007 | Unnamed woman | Stealing and murder of a 12 year-old girl | Execution by shooting | |
| 15 June 2007 | Two women | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| May 17, 2007 | Two guards | Selling drugs and theft | Public execution | |
| February 2007 | 40-year old man | Human trafficking | Secret execution | KINU |
| 2006 | 26 year-old man | Human trafficking and collecting gold | Public execution | KINU |
| 19 May 2006 | Ex-soldier | Stealing copper lines | Public execution | KINU |
| 17 May 2006 | Two unnamed people | Selling drugs and CDs | Public execution | KINU |
| 2005 | Unnamed man | Butchering a cow | Public execution | KINU |
| November 2005 | Unnamed woman | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| August 2005 | Company president (45M) | Selling copper lines | Public execution | KINU |
| 15 April 2005 | 23-year old man | Smuggling in a Bible | Public execution | KINU |
| April 2005 | College student | Murder | Public execution | KINU |
| April 2005 | Leader of a security platoon | Aiding escape | Public execution | KINU |
| March 2, 2005 | Han Bok Nam | Illegal border crossing and human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | |
| March 1, 2005 | Choi Jae Gon and Park Myung Gil | Transgression of the national border and human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | |
| February 28- March 1, 2005 | Three men | Human trafficking | Public execution by shooting | |
| January 2005 | 32-year old man | Listening to South Korean radio programs and singing South Korean songs | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Unnamed man | Illegal sale of gold | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Army cadet | Accidental killing | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Unnamed man | Murder-robbery | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Man and woman | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Unnamed woman | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| 2004 | Unnamed man | Corn theft | Public execution | KINU |
| November 2004 | Teacher | Human trafficking of 13 students | Public execution | KINU |
| November 2004 | Unnamed man | Selling and circulating South Korean videos | Public execution | KINU |
| September 2004 | 19 year-old man | Stealing a pig | Public execution | KINU |
| April 2004 | Unnamed man | Fistfighting with a Safety Agent | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| March 2004 | Unnamed woman | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| January 2004 | Man and woman | Acting as stringers for the South Korea | Public execution | KINU |
| 2003 | 51-year old man | Escape attempt | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| July 2003 | 40-year-old man | Smuggling and selling copper products and jewelry | Public execution by firing squad | KINU |
| 11 February 2003 | Unnamed man | Practicing Christianity | Public execution | KINU |
| January 2003 | Unnamed man | Killing his grandmother | Public execution | KINU |
| 2002 | Entire family (might refer to Lee Min Park case listed below) | Anti-state crimes | Unspecified | KINU |
| March 2002 | Three members of the Lee Min Park family | Conducting Christian worship | Unspecified | |
| 2000 | 12 people | Grain theft | Public execution | KINU |
| May 2000 | Kim XX | Human trafficking | Public execution | KINU |
| 1999 | 23-year old woman | Crossing into China and engaging in illegal religious activities | Public execution | KINU |
| 1999 | Unnamed man | Butchering a cow | Public execution | KINU |
| Before October 1999 | 60-year old married couple | Escape attempt | Public execution | KINU |
| May 1999 | Unnamed woman | Slave trade | Public execution | KINU |
| January 1999 | Two women and a man | Singing decadent songs | Public execution | KINU |
| 1998 | Seven unnamed men | Banditry | Public execution | KINU |
| November 1998 | Lim Chol-san and nine others | Butchering an animal | Public execution | KINU |
| November 1998 | Lee Bom-jae | Trying to sell mushrooms in China | Public execution | KINU |
| April 1998 | 13 cadres from the Social Safety Agency | Unknown | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 15 March 1998 | Wife and husband | Assaulting an agent of the People's Security Agency | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| February 1998 | Six people | Slave trade | Public execution | KINU |
| 1997 | So Kwan-hui | Sabotage | Public execution by shooting | [citation needed] |
| 1997 | Kim Man-kum and another unnamed official | Espionage | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| October 1997 | Four unnamed teenagers | Streaking | Public execution | KINU |
| April 1997 | Family of four | Selling human meat | Public execution | KINU |
| Early 1997 | Choi Jong-gil and eight others | Theft | Public execution by shooting | KINU |
| 1996 | Hyun Chul-nam | Resisting arrest | Unknown | KINU |
| 29 November 1996 | Jang Hye-kyung (mother) and Shin Hee-keun (son) | Escape attempt | Public execution | KINU |
| December 1995 | Family of five | Selling human meat | Public execution | KINU |
| September 1994 | Suh Chol | Stealing copper | Public execution | KINU |
| November 1992 | Chu Su Man (30) | Murder | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| Early 1990s | Unnamed man | Murder and rape | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| October 1991 | Park Myung-sik | Twelve murders | Execution by firing squad | |
| 1990 | Suh Yong-soon (23F) | Trying to hide damaged products | Firing squad | KINU |
| 1989 | Kang Won-sook (21) | Desertion | Firing squad | KINU |
| August 1988 | Ju Song Il | Murder | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1988 | Unnamed man | Embezzlement | Public execution by hanging | Amnesty International |
| 1988 | 45-year old man | Attempted murder | Public execution by hanging | Amnesty International |
| 1987 | Unnamed man | Murder or rape | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1986 | Unnamed man | Murder or rape | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1985 | Three unnamed man | Murder | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1983 or 1982 | One or two unnamed men | Rape and theft | Public execution | Amnesty International |
| 1983 or 1982 | Two brothers | Stealing rice from a train | Public execution | Amnesty International |
| 1981 | Woo In-hee | Affair with a man as Mistress of Kim Jong Il | Public execution by shooting | |
| Early 1980s | Two unnamed men | Unknown | Public execution by hanging | Amnesty International |
| 1980 | 25 and 65-year old man | Assault and rape | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1975 or 1976 | Unnamed man | Beating and crippling his wife | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1974 or 1975 | Two unnamed men | Banditry | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1970 | Two unnamed men | Banditry | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
| 1970 | Unnamed man | Murder or rape | Public execution by shooting | Amnesty International |
Public executions
North Korea was alleged to have resumed public executions in October 2007 after they had declined in the years following 2000 amidst international criticism. Prominent supposedly executed criminals include officials convicted of drug trafficking and embezzlement. Common criminals convicted of crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, drug dealing, smuggling, piracy, vandalism, etc. have also been reported to be executed, mostly by firing squad. The country does not publicly release national crime statistics or reports on the levels of crimes. As of 2012[update], North Korea is allegedly one of four countries carrying out executions in public, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. However, according to defectors interviewed by The Diplomat in 2014, the practice of such activities had not occurred, at least in Hyesan since 2000.
In October 2007, a South Pyongan province factory chief convicted of making international phone calls from 13 phones he installed in his factory basement was supposedly executed by firing squad in front of a crowd of 150,000 people in a stadium, according to an unverified report from a South Korean aid agency called Good Friends. Good Friends also reported that six were killed in the rush as spectators left. In another unverified instance, 15 people were allegedly publicly executed for crossing the border into China.
A U.N. General Assembly committee has adopted a draft resolution, co-sponsored by more than 50 countries, expressing "very serious concern" at reports of widespread human rights violations in North Korea, including public executions. North Korea has condemned the draft, saying it is inaccurate and biased. The report was sent to the then 192-member General Assembly for a final vote.
In 2011, two people were allegedly executed in front of 500 spectators for handling propaganda leaflets floated across the border from South Korea, reportedly as part of an unverified campaign by former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to tighten ideological control as he groomed his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as the eventual successor.
In June 2019, a South Korean NGO the Transitional Justice Working Group released an unverified report "Mapping the Fate of the Dead" that suggested 318 sites in North Korea supposedly used by the government for public executions. According to the NGO, public executions have taken place near rivers, fields, markets, schools, and sports grounds. The report alleges that family members and children of those sentenced to death were forced to watch their executions.
Capital punishment in prison camps
Amnesty International has alleged that torture and executions are widespread in political prisons in North Korea. Unverified testimonies describe secret and public executions in North Korean prisons by firing squad, decapitation or by hanging. Executions are allegedly used as a means of deterrence, often accompanied by torture.
See also
- Human rights in North Korea
- Prisons in North Korea
- Persecution of Christians in North Korea
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