NORTH KOREA: Human Rights Abuse and Why DPRK Will Not Be Invaded

The last bastions of the Iron Curtain, North Korea is run under a regime that has no parallel in the world. No other country is as oppressed, and uses methods of torture, public executions and mass famine to subdue their population into submission. The North Korean people face extreme punishments for the smallest crimes, and live in constant fear and dread that they will be thrown to a gulag, or be tortured and killed if the say the wrong thing or do something illegal. And, in the DPRK, almost everything is illegal!

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL INVESTIGATION 

In 2013, the United Nations Human Rights Council launched an unprecedented investigation into human rights in North Korea. The conclusion, in 2014, led to a 372 page report detailing the atrocities that the Kim regime forces on his people. The report set out to investigate the systematic, wide spread human rights abuse in nine basic areas that were identified in North Korea. These were the main categories:

• Violations of the right to access food
• Violations pertaining to prison camps 
• Torture and inhumane treatment of people 
• Arbitrary arrest and torture
• Discrimination, with focus to denial to human rights and basic fundamental freedoms 
• Violation of expression 
• Violation of the right to life
• Violation of the freedom of movement
• Enforced disappearances, especially in regards to kidnapping foreign nationals from other countries 

The team set out to investigate and document the human right violations, collect data and documentation by talking to both victims and perpetrators, and holding accountable those responsible, which would be the DPRK regime.  Not surprisingly, when the Human Rights Council asked the North Korean government to give its commission members full access to visit the country and provide all information pertaining to the investigation, the DPRK stated that it would ''totally reject and disregard'' the inquiry. 

Because they were denied access to the country, the commission had to obtain testimonials from witnesses, for example recent defectors from North Korea. They had more than 80 witnesses testify in a fair, open trial that was held to the highest standard and protected the witnesses. The things they revealed were shocking and took a great deal of courage. The public hearings were held in Seoul, London, Tokyo, and Washington D.C. in late 2013. The DPRK government representatives were welcomed to these public hearings, but no reply was given to the invitation. There was more than 240 interviews held with the witnesses. 

The three rulers: Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un

THE FINDINGS OF THE REPORT 

The report has found that ''systematic, widespread, gross violations of human rights has been and are being committed currently by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.'' In many cases, these human rights violations are happening as a direct result of State policies. The main perpetrators are: State Security Department, the Ministry of People's Security, the Korean's People Army, the Office of the Public Persecutor, the judiciary and the Workers' Party of Korea. These organisations are all acting under complete control of the main figures of the Workers' Party of Korea, the National Defense Commission and the Supreme Leader of the DPRK.  

The list of violations by the DPRK is very long, very extensive. Lets dive into some of the points of the report's findings:

• Thoughts, expression and religion 
• It was found that the people of North Korea are subjugated to brainwashing from the time they are born to the time they die. They go through a process of comprehensive indoctrination, omnipresent propaganda and extremely tough enforcement of the Kim dynasty cult and public obedience. Citizens are forced to participate in huge propaganda events, self-criticism sessions, and all their education is funneled to support the brainwashing of the people. The State surveillance seeps in every corner of the people's private lives, by having people spy on each other and creating a sense of dread and fear that if someone says something against the regime, they will be severely punished. 
• There is no competition in DPRK against the State's media machine or propaganda. All social activities are controlled strictly by the government. There is no foreign media allowed, and access is forbidden and punished severely. Foreign reporters have almost no access to the country, and when they do, they have a list of pre-approved sites and scripted answers when they conduct interviews. Everything in the DPRK is a perfectly run theater, scripted by the Supreme Leader and his cohorts. 

• Discrimination
• Discrimination is rampant in North Korea. It is mostly classified under the songbun system. There are three main categories, and there is over 50 sub-categories, which is classified information. Songbun can be classified as state-assigned social class and birth. Songbun affects everything in a citizen's life: where they live, how much and where they can study, what work is assigned to them, who they marry, and even how much food is allocated to them. In North Korea, it is not possible to change your songbun level to be higher, only to be lower. As such, it is how the North Korean regime maintains control over people. Because there is no way to change or better one's status in society. 
• Women are heavily discriminated in North Korea. As it is a patriarchal society, it is expected that women follow stringent rules on how to act, dress and behave. This is to maintain ''the gender stereotype of the pure and innocent Korean woman.'' Sexual and gender-based violence is rampant in all levels of the DPRK's society against women. Because of these stringent rules and violations against human rights that intersect with the gender discrimination, women have increasingly had to engage in transnational sexual acts, or be vulnerable to human trafficking. Women who try to make a living selling good in the markets or working in jobs, for example, have been vulnerable to officials targeting them to pay fines or bribes to be able to run their businesses or work. 

Picture of North Korean female soldiers

• Movement and residence 
• The people of North Korea are severely restricted in the movement that they can have. For example, they can't leave the province or the country without government permission. This is so that the State can control the flow of information and maintain contrasting living conditions based on songbun, and also to maximize the State's control over the population.
• To be able to maintain the image of Pyongyang's ''pureness'', the regime is known to expel whole family groups, if someone is deemed to have done something against the regime, or commit a serious crime. Large numbers of street children are seen migrating to the capital in search of food and risk deportation back to their own provinces or worse, institutionalized in a government facility. 
• As there is an almost absolute ban on overseas travel from DPRK, those who are caught trying to flee, or go China are repatriated and face imprisonment, torture, sexual violence or death upon getting caught. Pregnant females are often forced to have abortions, or their babies are killed up delivery.

Pyongyang Skyline

• Food 
• Food is used as a means of control over the population. There is a ranking system in place, and those persons that are deemed more ''crucial'' to the regime are given priority with food over those that are deemed ''more expendable.'' 
• Food is often confiscated from those in need and redistributed according to the songbun system. This is mostly seen in Pyongyang, where there is an abundance of food and supplies compared to the rest of the country. This discrimination in how food is distributed has led to the ongoing malnutrition in children and the commission is worried about the long-term effects of this.    
• The State is aware that there is a severe food shortage, like the period of the ''Arduous March'' of the 1990s, and despite this, they still refuse to have structural reforms to be able to provide people with adequate standard of living. They refuse to change so that they are able to maintain a tight fist of control over the masses. 
• The DPRK government systematically has made it difficult for humanitarian aid to be delivered to North Korea. It has imposed harsh rules so that it makes it impossible for humanitarian organisations to assess needs and monitor the distribution of aid. 
• It has been noted that the North Korean regime has failed to prioritize the majority of spending of resources on food to feed the hungry population. Instead, the money has been spent of military armament, developing nuclear technology, luxury goods, and building the cult image of the Supreme Leader. It is estimated that between 36% to 40% of the population suffers from malnutrition and the health issues that comes with having poor access to food and clean water.

• Arbitrary detention, torture, execution and prison camps 
• Torture is an established tool for the State's officials in interrogations or as punishment in the prison camps. Most people die at the interrogation centers as a direct result of the treatment inflicted upon them. These torture methods can include: starvation, beatings, being forced to sit or stand in painful positions for prolonged periods of time, sexual violence, forced to be tied in unnatural positions for long periods of time, and being forced to consume objects or substances that can cause pain, vomiting or other unpleasant side effects.  After a suspect ''confesses'' to the alleged crime, they are sent straight away to a prison camp, often bypassing a trial or judiciary system. 
• Being a political prisoner is the worst thing that can happen in North Korea. It is a sentence for those that are seen as ''irredeemable'' to society. People that are deemed as a threat to the North Korean regime are often thrown in these political prison camps, where they receive the worse abuse out of all prison camps. Often the prisoners die of starvation, bad treatment or inhumane living conditions. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners were held in 4 large prison camps at the time of the report publishing. North Korea has denied that such camps exist. 
• There are also ordinary prisons or re-education camps where prisoners are sent for shorter sentences or lesser crimes. Here are also despicable conditions, where prisoners are also faced with sexual violence, torture, starvation, bad living conditions, execution, forced labour, and denial of reproductive rights or forced abortions. People are often sent here with no reasons provided and even their own families are not informed. 
• As a matter of policy, the State sanctions executions that can be done in secret or openly, public or private executions and the methods differ. For example, the prisoners can be shot, hanged, stoned, or implement other methods. This is to instill fear and obedience in the population. Often people are executed without a trial or a reason given, and can be killed for any reason that the State sees fit to execute for. 
• Guilt by association is a tool that the regime uses well to instill fear into families. Basically, if one member of the family is accused of something, then three to five generations of the same family can be take to the prison camps or executed because they are related to the original accusee. It has been found that this was rampant in the past, but now it seems it has calmed down a bit. 

Pictures drawn by NK defectors on torture methods in the camps

• Abductions of foreigners and enforced disappearances from other countries 
• Since the 1950s, North Korea has been involved with abductions of foreign internationals to provide the State with certain skills or labor. This goes against the international rules that recognizes the rights of foreign individuals. 
• Victims that have been kidnapped by the regime were severely restricted and their rights were abused by not allowing free movement outside of the compounds they were forced to live in, there was no right to work, and it was forbidden to interact with ethical Koreans. 
• In the 1960s and 1970s, a multitude of foreign women were stolen and forced to marry and bear children to foreign spouses living in North Korea. This was to prevent the men from consorting with pure North Korean women and ''sully'' the native genes.
• Escapees have been routinely abducted from China and brought back to North Korea for throwing to prison camps. This is because of the large incidents of people trying to escape to China in search of food, and a better life. The North Korean government targets those escapees who could provide sensitive information to the West or Republic of Korea.   

Invasion and Toppling of the Regime 

So, now we have a clear picture of how harrowing it is to live in North Korea, and what sort of human rights abuses and violations against humanity is going on. My one big question has always been why does the West not do something about it? Surely, the West has the equipment and manpower to easily overpower the Kim regime and bring freedom to the North Korean people. However, this topic is not as easy as one thinks. Due to the international relationships between North Korea, China and Russia, it would mean that whatever country decides to pick a fight with the DPRK, would also be picking a fight with the bigger cousins (i.e. Russia and China). 

North Korean army parade

Lets explore some of the reasons why West can't just invade:

• North Korea is a nuclear power: It is estimated they have over 60 nuclear weapons with capabilities to launch them on short and medium range missiles.  It is even thought that they have long range missiles that could reach the USA. The scary thing is that, previously, it was thought that Kim would use nukes as a last resort. However, now it is estimated that he would use the nuclear bombs at the beginning of the war, and it would be a sensible decision. This would be because the Supreme Leader would know that the first chance possible, the USA would knock out the nuke system and hinder the launch of any of the missiles before they were used. It applies the Cold War era thinking of ''use them or lose them''.  
• They have a ginormous stash of bio weapons at their disposal: It is estimated that they have around 2,500 to 5,000 metric tonnes of nerve agents, that could cause paralysis and death, for example sarin. This can be thrown at Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, thereby crippling the nations and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.  It is said they also have things like anthrax, smallpox, yellow fever, hemorrhagic fever, and even plague! 
• It has a massive arsenal of conventional military equipment: It is believed that they have more than 1,300 aircraft, 300 helicopters, 430 combatant vessels, 250 amphibious vessels, 70 submarines, 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armored vehicles, and 5,500 multiple-rocket launchers. It is also estimated that they have over 1,000 missiles of various capabilities. 
• They have the 4th biggest army in the world: With about 1,3 million active soldiers at their disposal. There are also several million reservists that can be implemented if needed. All indoctrinated and prepared to defend the Kim dynasty with their lives. 
• It would cause a humanitarian disaster: With an already fragile economy and starving population, the North Korean regime would divert all its funds into defending the military. As such, the little resources that are used now for food, health and benefit of the people would completely disappear. 
• It would cause a lot of displaced refugees: The amount of refugees that China and South Korea would need to absorb is insurmountable, and nobody wants to shoulder those costs. Plus, South Koreans would not like to fight with the North as they still see them as their countrymen, and many have families that are living on both sides of the border. However, it is also established through various polls that increasingly there is growing a divide in the South Koreans' mind who are slowly divorcing themselves from their North Korean counterparts, not seeing them as part of the same populace, these people would rather see a slow, organic integration rather than brute force used. 
• China would get angry and retaliate on its own:  In the past, it was thought that China would step in and help to defend North Korea purely to prevent the chance of having millions of starving refugees flood the Chinese border. However, now it has become more and more clear that China is not anymore interested to protect the Kim regime, but more it would storm into North Korea to protect its own interests and benefits. In case of an invasion from the USA, China would probably sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight against the USA and North Korean troops. And then, it would be a race between USA and China to whom will get to the nuclear sites first, as both countries would have the same goals. The goals would be to secure the nuclear sites and prevent the regime to use the nukes. 

DPRK soldiers standing at attention 

USA and South Korea, and the other allied nations, would much rather come to a peaceful resolution with North Korea and slowly work on warming up the diplomatic relations to have those open channels to suggest reforms, and offer humanitarian help to the North Korean regime. As well as this, there are currently harsh sanctions in place from the United Nations that make it harder and harder for North Korea to trade and obtain goods. As a country that hasn't got the capabilities to manufacture their own goods, or to provide enough food for their population, it is hoped that the difficulties that these sanctions make for North Korea will propel the Kim regime to make changes and be willing to work with the other countries to denuclearize and start to better the lives of the North Korean people.

The Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea

References:

• https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/25/63
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Report_of_the_Commission_of_Inquiry_on_Human_Rights_in_the_Democratic_People%27s_Republic_of_Korea
• https://www.vox.com/world/2018/2/7/16974772/north-korea-war-trump-kim-nuclear-weapon
• https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-koreas-military-capabilities