North Korea Executions Rose 247% in 2020-2024, Report Says

SEOUL, April 28 – A Seoul-based human rights group documented a sharp rise in North Korean executions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with authorities executing or sentencing at least 153 people between 2020 and 2024, a 247 percent increase from the previous five-year period.

The Transitional Justice Working Group, which analyzed testimony from North Korean defectors and reports from sources inside the country, detailed 144 cases involving 358 individuals from 2011 to 2024. Executions expanded geographically after the regime sealed its borders in early 2020, shifting from northern border areas to cities and provinces nationwide, including 46 sites near government facilities in Pyongyang. Nearly three-quarters of the executions were public, held in open areas such as markets, riverbanks and airfields to instill fear.

Researchers noted a pivot in capital offenses from violent crimes like homicide, which fell 44 percent, to ideological violations. Cases linked to South Korean media, films, music, religion and so-called superstitious practices surged 250 percent after 2020. Political crimes also rose, from four to 28 cases in the period. This coincided with a 2020 law imposing the...