The state-sanctioned executions of North Korean prisoners have been revealed. Witnesses claim that one man had his body mutilated using a flamethrower, while his father watched, according to a new report.
Witness testimony was heard by researchers from a group that promotes human rights. They were able to hear 27 executions state-sanctioned in the ten years since Kim Jong-un assumed power following his sudden death on December 17, 2011.
There were 23 executions that were made public, 21 by firing squad and two by hanging. The report also includes harrowing accounts from South Korean defectors. The real number could be higher.
The Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group told one witness that executions were meant to be a warning by the state. Students and workers were ordered to keep an eye on them.
Researchers said that fluid from the brain of the condemned man was still present. However, they explained to researchers that people were asked to line up and stare at the executioner in order for them not too forget the warning message.
One other described the dismemberment of corpses of execution victims.
A group of human rights researchers heard testimony from 27 executions that were state sanctioned in the decade following Kim Jong Un’s sudden death on December 17, 2011.
The report states that an executed body burned in Pyongyang with a flamethrower following execution in 2012.
The family of the defendant was required to witness the execution, and sat in the first row. After seeing his son die in front of him, the father fell to his knees.
A child with Kalashnikov rifles was killed in Hyesan’s 2012 execution.
“Blood was splattered, and flesh was torn. North Korean officials folded the body in half, stepping on the dead, then put it into a bag. “I was told that the North Korean authorities tossed the bag away.
Interviewees described inhumane treatment of prisoner before their public executions.
“The condemned person was taken out of the vehicle like a dog prior to the public execution,” another witness claimed about a second execution in Hyesan, 2012.
“The man about to die was already in an almost fatal condition, and his eardrums appeared to have been damaged. This prevented him from speaking or hearing.
The prisoner, who was being held at a public shooting in North Hwanghae in 2014 was bound to a wood post and had pebbles in the mouth.
Seven executions were reportedly for viewing and distributing South Korean media like K-pop, according to the report. This was more than any other reason.
The punishments for drug, prostitution, and sex crime included a sentence.
Since taking power ten years ago, Kim Jong-un – North Korea’s dictator – has attacked South Korean entertainment – including music, movies and television – which he says corrupts his citizen’s minds.
Kim has previously described the genre as a ‘vicious cancer’, with the executions coming as part of a crackdown on the music.
The North Korean regime led by Kim Jong-un (pictured during a conference of military educationists of the Korean People’s Army held on December 4 and 5, 2021) has executed at least seven people by firing squad in the last ten years for sharing or watching South Korean K-pop, a rights group claimed on Wednesday
The South’s entertainment has been illegally smuggled over the border for many years, originally as VHS cassettes or CDs. Now, flash drives are being imported from China to avoid censorship.
However, if they are caught and convicted of distributing entertainment from South Korea, the law that was passed last December will make them subject to death.
People found guilty of watching and sharing prohibited content were executed publicly, creating terror in the North Korean population.
The US ambassador Linda Tomas Greenfield addressed the United Nations Wednesday. She led a group that included Japan and Britain in calling for an open discussion on North Korean human right violations.
She stated that the regime’s violations of human rights, such as its illegal WMD (weapons or mass destruction), and ballistic missile programs, were destabilizing to international security and peace. The council must prioritize these matters.
“The modern world is not a place for this kind of brutality. It’s time that the council addresses it.”
The full scale of public executions in the country is impossible to know, but to gain some understanding of the practice, Transitional Justice Working Group focused on executions that have occurred since Kim Jong-un took power, and those that have been carried out in Hyesan – a city close to the border with China.
Hyesan acts as a trading center of over 200,000 people and a portal to trade in South Korean entertainment, including USB sticks.
Many North Korean defectors have also lived in this city and fled to South Korea. Many others have passed through this city.
Kim has made Hyesan the focus of his efforts to crack down on South Korean music, K-pop, and other South Korean pop.
Kim Jong Un has attacked South Korean entertainment since he took power ten year ago. He says it corrupts his citizens’ minds. Pictured: K-pop group Blackpink perform at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival in California, 2019
According to the study, seven executions were carried out in order to watch or distribute K-pop. All except one occurred between 2012-12 and 2014.
Residents were encouraged to observe the cruel punishments and the families of those who died. The group stated that officials called the accused social evil before the nine bullets fired by three soldiers killed them.
In recent years, however, the human rights group said North Korea has changed the way it carries out capital punishment in response to greater international scrutiny of its human rights, more often holding executions in front of controlled crowds.
Park Ah-yeong was the report’s lead author.
“This doesn’t mean that the situation in human rights is improving. State-led killings still take place in ways not as visible to the public.
North Korea doesn’t answer foreign journalists’ questions or publish data or reports on its judiciary system.
The state media in North Korea rarely report on crimes and punishments of convicted. North Korea denied existence of any prison camps, and it accused America and its allies in using human rights criticism as part of their hostile policy toward the country.
As a sign of public warning, North Korea used to execute prisoners in prison camps or villages.
Seven executions were committed to K-pop distribution or watching. All but one of them took place in Hyesan, according to the study.
However, executions were increasingly avoided in highly populated areas because authorities struggled to track who was there.
The group also stated that it had stopped holding executions at its borders or in facilities easily monitored via satellites.
According to the group, “This possible change of location might explain why the state is acting under the influence of international scrutiny,”
Although North Korea did not abandon public executions (23 of the 27 listed in the report are public), it was determined to limit who could attend, according to the group.
It stated that the state controls and monitors public-killing events to ensure information about public executions is not leaked.
“Inhumane treatment for the accused before execution” – used to warn the public has continued.
There are some specific cases of executions by the North that have been mentioned.
In November, it was reported a North Korean man was set to be executed for bringing back a copy of Netflix’s Squid Game into the country.
According to some reports, the student smuggler returned from China with an encrypted USB flash drive containing a digital copy of South Korean television series.
After selling the copies to several students, he was finally caught by surveillance agencies of the country.
Radio Free Asia reported that one student who bought a copy of the drive has since received a life sentence, while six others who watched the show have been sentenced to five years hard labor.
It was claimed that a North Korean citizen was being executed in November for returning a copy Netflix’s Squid Game (pictured), into North Korea.
In May, Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered for North Korean man to be shot by firing squad for illegally selling films and music, while his family were forced to watch his execution.
Lee, the father’s surname, was taken into custody in Wonsan (Gangwon), before being allegedly executed by 500 people forty days later.
A source informed Daily NK that Lee, who was chief engineer at Wonsan Farming Management Commission was indicted by authorities for ‘anti-socialist actions’ related to trading South Korean videos.
According to the publication, Lee was captured by his leader of the ‘people’s unit, or neighborhood watch group. He then secretly sold the music and films.
Lee was executed only 40 days after his arrest. Lee’s wife, child and sister were forced into the front row to witness his last moments.
And in December last year, North Korea held a public execution by firing squad to punish a breach of coronavirus rules, insiders in the country said..
Radio Free Asia reports that a man was accused of trying to smuggle goods across China’s closed border. He was killed on 28 November in an attempt to intimidate people into complying with the rules.
Sources claim that although North Korea claims not to have ever had Covid-19 in its history, Kim Jong Un’s regime implemented ‘ultrahigh-level emergency quarantine’ measures and ordered troops to kill trespassers near the Chinese border.
According to one source, they held a firing squad execution in public threat of residents living near the border. The reason was that there had been lots of contact with the people at the other end of the border.
According to South Korea’s central banks, North Korea’s economic performance suffered the worst contraction for 23 years during 2020. It was hit by U.N. sanctions and COVID-19 locksdown measures, as well as bad weather.
North Korea did not confirm any COVID-19-related cases. However, it closed its borders and implemented strict preventive measures to combat the spread of the pandemic, recognizing that national survival is paramount.
According to the U.N., the special UN rapporteur for human rights in North Korea stated that the most vulnerable citizens of the country are at risk from starvation as a result of its isolation following the COVID-19 epidemic.
North Korea marks 10 years since the death of Kim Jong II
North Korea marked Friday the 10th anniversary the death of its former leader Kim Jong Il with calls to increase public loyalty for his son, Kim Jong Un. He is currently struggling to steer the country through the pandemic-related difficulties.
Kim Jong Un has enjoyed the exact same absolute power that Kim Jong Il (his grandfather and founder of the North Korean state) enjoys in his 10 year tenure as the leader of North Korea.
Although the United States has long abandoned diplomacy and imposed severe anti-virus sanctions, North Korea does not show signs of instability. Experts outside doubt Kim’s power.
Some observers believe that Kim Jong Un’s long-term stability could be in doubt if he doesn’t take steps to resolve the continuing difficulties and improve the public’s livelihoods.
After a loud siren was heard for three minutes Friday afternoon, North Koreans lowered their heads in respect of Kim Jong Il and fell silent.
Ships, cars, trains, and automobiles blared their horns. National flags were reduced to half-staff, masses of people scaled Pyongyang’s Mansu Hill, to bow and lay flowers in front of giant statues by Kim Jong Il or Kim Il Sung.
Kim Jong Un, 27, salutes while leading mourners to his father’s funeral. This was the first chance most people saw his face. Except for Kim, the dictator has since executed all the men shown in the photo.
Won Jong Rim of Pyongyang stated that Kim Jong Il (our great general) had been through much hardship to make his path towards building a paradise. This is in apparent contradiction to official propaganda.
Kim Jong Un visited a mausoleum to pay respects on every death anniversary. This is where his grandfather’s and father’s embalmed bodies are kept in state. At previous milestone anniversaries, like the first or fifth, Kim Jong Un also hosted national gatherings to honor his father.
While he had been expected to perform the same in 2018, North Korea’s state media failed to immediately report on public activities that involved him. The state media published articles that lauded Kim Jong Il while calling for greater unity in support of Kim Jong Un.
In an editorial, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper in North Korea stated that ‘we should make every effort… to boost our single-minded unity… by standing together behind respected comrade Kim Jong Un’.
Kim Jong Un is facing the most difficult moment in his reign due to the U.N sanctions, coronavirus pandemic and poor management.
China was North Korea’s biggest trading partner, and its economic pipeline. The trade relationship with China shrank by around 80% last year, before plummeting by almost two-thirds over the first nine month of 2011.
Kim Jong Un rode a horse to Mount Paektu’s summit in 2019. This was a highly symbolic gesture that analysts believed signaled a shift in direction for the country. It also reinforced Kim Jong Un’s reputation as a forward-looking leader.
According to South Korean government estimates, North Korea’s economic performance suffered the worst contraction since 1997. Meanwhile, its production of grain fell to its lowest levels since Kim took office.
Kim is refusing to resume talks with Washington or Seoul. He called for the building of a stronger and more self-reliant economy, while keeping strict viruses restrictions (including two years of closures at the borders)
Kim worries that North Korea’s broken health system won’t be able afford to deal with a large-scale virus epidemic. But analysts say he still maintains the questionable assertion that North Korea is free from coronaviruses.
“North Korea must accept offers to denuclearize talks with the U.S. It cannot avoid strong international sanctions unless it does so. North Korea cannot continue its isolationist measures due to COVID-19 spreading without international cooperation. “And this is a North Korean problem,” Cheong Seong Chang from the Sejong Institute, South Korea stated in a recent newspaper.
Kim considers the North’s nuclear arsenal to be his core, calling it “a powerful treasured weapon” that deters any U.S. attacks.
According to Seoul’s Unification Ministry, North Korea conducted 62 ballistic missile test rounds during his 10 year rule. These tests are prohibited by numerous U.N Security Council resolutions.
It is comparable to nine rounds of testing during Kim Il Sung’s 46-year reign and 22 rounds under Kim Jong Il’s seventeen-year reign. Kim Jong Un was the one who ruled over four of North’s six nukes and three launches of intercontinental ballistic rockets.
The commemoration of Kim Jong Il was marked by public ceremonies and official propaganda in North Korea. Leif Eric Easley, an Ewha University professor in Seoul, said that Kim Jong Un will attempt to chart a credible course for economic recovery and post-pandemic diplomacy.
The Associated Press reports.