North Korea is increasingly using the death penalty, including against people caught watching or sharing foreign films and TV dramas, according to a new United Nations human rights report.

The UN Human Rights Office said Pyongyang has expanded its use of executions while subjecting citizens to harsher restrictions and forced labour, tightening state control over “all aspects of life.”

The report, based on more than 300 interviews with escapees over the past decade, found that at least six new laws since 2015 have broadened crimes punishable by death. These include distributing foreign media, which Kim Jong Un’s government views as a threat to its grip on information.

Interviewees said public executions, often by firing squad, have increased since 2020, intended to instil fear and deter violations. One escapee, Kang Gyuri, told that three of her friends were executed after being caught with South Korean content.

“When a 23-year-old friend was tried, he was sentenced to death alongside drug criminals. These crimes are treated the same now,” she said.

The UN report also warned of worsening food insecurity, with most people unable to eat three meals a day. Conditions deteriorated further during the Covid pandemic, when informal marketplaces were restricted and hunger spread nationwide.

Escapees described how border controls were tightened, with soldiers ordered to shoot those attempting to flee to China.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said North Koreans face “suffering, brutal repression and fear” unless conditions change. The report concluded that advances in surveillance technology have made state monitoring more pervasive, leaving citizens unable to make their own economic, social or political decisions.

One escapee said the government’s crackdown was meant “to block people’s eyes and ears,” eliminating any sign of dissatisfaction.

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