View source for Social:Capital punishment in North Korea

{{disputed|date=May 2018}}
[[Social:Capital punishment|Capital punishment]] is form of [[Philosophy:Punishment|punishment]] in North Korea, allegedly for many offences, such as grand theft, [[Social:Murder|murder]], [[Medicine:Rape|rape]], drug smuggling, treason, [[Social:Espionage|espionage]], political dissidence, [[Social:Defection|defection]], piracy, consumption of [[Social:Censorship|media not approved]] by the government and [[Social:Proselyte|proselytizing]] religious beliefs that contradict practiced ''[[Social:Juche|Juche]]'' ideology.<ref name="United Nations Human Rights Council 2014"/> Current working knowledge of the topic depends heavily on unverified accounts of defectors (both relatives of victims, and former members of the government).<ref name="United Nations Human Rights Council 2014"/> Executions are supposedly mostly carried out by firing squad, [[Medicine:Hanging|hanging]] or decapitation in public, which, if true, makes North Korea one of the last four countries to still perform public executions, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.<ref name=Guardian/>

== 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 to 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=White Paper on North Korean Human Rights 2009 |publisher=Database Center for North Korean Human Rights |location=Seoul |isbn=978-89-93739-03-9 |date=May 31, 2009 |url=http://nkdb.org/bbs/data/publication/2009_NKDB_whitepaper_english.pdf |accessdate=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104094518/http://nkdb.org/bbs/data/publication/2009_NKDB_whitepaper_english.pdf |archivedate=November 4, 2013 }}</ref> Amnesty International reported that there were 105 executions between 2007 and 2012.<ref name=guardian-2016>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world |title=Death penalty statistics, country by country |work=Datablog |publisher=The Guardian |year=2016 |accessdate=15 April 2018}}</ref> The ''Foreign Policy'' periodical estimated there were 60 executions in 2010.<ref name=foreignpolicy-20110922>{{cite news |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/09/22/the-worlds-top-executioners/ |title=The World's Top Executioners |author=Joshua E. Keating |newspaper=Foreign Policy |date=22 September 2011 |accessdate=12 January 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="United Nations Human Rights Council 2014"/>

On November 3, 2013, according to an unproven JoongAng Ilbo report, at least 80 people were publicly executed for minor offenses. The supposed 'executions' were said to be carried out simultaneously in Wonsan, Chongjin, Sariwon, Pyongsong and three other North Korean cities for crimes such as watching South Korean movies, distributing pornography or possessing a Bible. According to a witness from Wonsan, 10,000 residents were forced to watch when eight people were machine-gunned to death at the local Shinpoong stadium.<ref>{{cite news | title= Public executions seen in 7 North Korea cities | work='Korea JoongAng Daily | url= http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2980240| accessdate=December 3, 2013 | first= Young-Jong | last= Lee | date=November 11, 2013}}</ref>

On December 13, 2013, North Korean state media announced the execution of Jang Sung-taek, the uncle by marriage of North Korea's leader [[Biography:Kim Jong-un|Kim Jong-un]].<ref>{{cite news | title= Even by North Korean standards, this announcement of Jang Song Thaek’s execution is intense | work=Washington Post| url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/12/12/even-by-north-korean-standards-this-announcement-of-jang-song-thaeks-execution-is-intense/ | accessdate=December 13, 2013 | date= December 12, 2013 }}</ref> The South Korean National Intelligence Service believes that two of his closest aides, Lee Yong-ha and Jang Soo-keel, were executed in mid-November.<ref>{{cite news | title= Seoul: Kim Jung Un Fires Uncle, Executes his Associates | work=Voice of Asia News| url= http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-kim-jong-un-uncle-major-figure-ruling-party-believed-dismissed/1802333.html | accessdate=December 3, 2013 | date= December 3, 2013 }}</ref> According to a South Korean newspaper, Jang's nephew, O Sang-hon, was supposedly executed by being burnt alive with a flame thrower.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10750082/North-Korean-official-executed-by-flame-thrower.html|title= North Korean official 'executed by flame-thrower'|author=Julian Ryall|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=7 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/07/2014040700892.html|title=N.Korea Shuts Down Jang Song-taek's Department |newspaper=Chosun Ilbo|date=7 April 2014}}</ref>

In 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council created a Commission of inquiry on human rights in the DPRK, 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 [[Social:Crimes against humanity|crimes against humanity]].<ref name="United Nations Human Rights Council 2014">{{cite journal |first1= Michael Donald|last1=Kirby |first2=Sonja |last2=Biserko  |first3= Marzuki|last3=Darusman  |authorlink3=Marzuki Darusman  |date=7 February 2014 |title=Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea -&shy; A/HRC/25/CRP.1 |publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council |url= http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227104633/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoIDPRK/Report/A.HRC.25.CRP.1_ENG.doc | archivedate= February 27, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== List of reported executions ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
! Date of execution
! Convict
! Crime
! Method
! Source
|-
| February 2020
| Unnamed man
| Quarantine violation
| [[Engineering:Execution by shooting|Execution by shooting]]
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/13/north-korea-executes-top-official-leaving-coronavirus-quarantine-go-baths-12233603/|title=North Korea executes top official for leaving coronavirus quarantine to go to baths|date=13 February 2020|publisher=metro.co.uk}}</ref>
|-
| March 2019
| Two unnamed women
| Fortune-telling
| Public execution by shooting
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/executions-04102019175353.html|title=North Korea Stages Public Executions to Strengthen ‘Social Order’|date=10 April 2019|publisher=|via=Radio Free Asia}}</ref>
|-
| 10 January 2019
| Unnamed man
| Murder of prison guard
| Execution by shooting
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibtimes.com/north-korean-inmate-executed-firing-squad-killing-prison-guard-2753387|title=North Korean Inmate Executed By Firing Squad For Killing Prison Guard|date=17 January 2019|publisher=|via=www.ibtimes.com}}</ref>
|-
| December 2018
| Unnamed man
| Corruption
| Public execution by shooting
| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2019/02/12/2019021201708.html|title=N.Korea's State Guesthouse Chief Executed in Public|date=12 February 2019|publisher=chosun.com}}</ref>
|-
| 27 February 2017
| 5 unnamed men
| Making false report
| Execution by shooting
| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/27/report-n-korea-executes-officials-for-enraging-kim-jong-un.html|title=Report: N. Korea executes officials with anti-aircraft guns for 'enraging' Kim Jong Un|publisher=CNBC|date=27 February 2017|accessdate=29 October 2017}}</ref>
|-
| May 2015
| Choe Yong-gon
| Treason
|
|
|-
| 12 December 2013
| Jang Song-thaek and 7 unnamed men
| Treason
| Execution by shooting
| 
|-
| 3 January 2011
| Unnamed man and unnamed woman
| Treason
| Execution by shooting
| <ref>[http://www.capitalpunishmentuk.org/jan11.html Executions in January 2011]</ref>
|-
| 17 March 2010
| Pak Nam-gi
| Treason
| Execution by shooting
| 
|-
| 1997
| So Kwan-hui
| Sabotage 
| Public execution by shooting
| 
|-
| 1981
| Woo In-hee
| Mistress of Kim Jong-il
| Public execution by shooting
| 
|-
|}

==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.<ref name=USDOS-HRR2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204210 "Korea, Democratic People's Republic of"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved September 25, 2013.</ref> {{As of|2012}}, North Korea is allegedly one of four countries carrying out executions in public, the other three being Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=Simon |last2=Chalabi |first2=Mona |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world |title=Death penalty statistics, country by country |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |date=2013-12-13 |accessdate=2015-12-13 }}</ref>

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.<ref name=foreignpolicy-20110922/><ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313226,00.html "150,000 Witness North Korea Execution of Factory Boss Whose Crime Was Making International Phone Calls"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527113851/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C313226%2C00.html |date=May 27, 2013 }}, ''Fox News'', November 27, 2007.</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/10245/  Public executions by North Korea is another injustice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129235623/http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/10245 |date=2009-01-29 }}, ''Amnesty International'', March 7, 2008.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://english.pravda.ru/world/101627-public_execution-0
 | title = North Korea resumes public executions
 | accessdate = December 19, 2007
 | author=
 | last =
 | first =
 | date = November 26, 2007
 | work= A non-profit organization work towards realization of Human rights and protects crime against humanity
 | publisher=English-language version of Pravda
  }}</ref>

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 [[Biography:Kim Jong-un|son]] as the eventual successor.<ref>[http://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/executions-01242011112449.html "Public Executions over Leaflets"]. Parameswaran Ponnudurai. Radio Free Asia (RFA). January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2013.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.tjwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Report-Mapping-the-Fate-of-the-Dead-Killings-and-Burials-in-North-Korea.pdf|title=MAPPING THE FATE OF THE DEAD: KILLINGS AND BURIALS IN NORTH KOREA|work=Transitional Justice Working Group|accessdate=10 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611233833/https://en.tjwg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Report-Mapping-the-Fate-of-the-Dead-Killings-and-Burials-in-North-Korea.pdf|archive-date=June 11, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48590691|title=North Korea: Hundreds of public execution sites identified, says report|work=BBC News|accessdate=11 June 2019}}</ref>

== Capital punishment in prison camps ==
Amnesty International has alleged that [[Philosophy:Torture|torture]] and executions are widespread in political prisons in North Korea.<ref>{{cite news | title= Amnesty: Torture, Execution Rampant in Vast N. Korea Prisons | work= Voice of Asia News | url= http://www.voanews.com/content/amnesty-international-torture-execution-rampant-vask-north-korea-prisons/1803922.html | accessdate= December 13, 2013 | date= December 4, 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131213054017/http://www.voanews.com/content/amnesty-international-torture-execution-rampant-vask-north-korea-prisons/1803922.html | archive-date= December 13, 2013 | url-status= dead }}</ref> Unverified testimonies describe secret and public executions in North Korean prisons by firing squad, decapitation or by [[Medicine:Hanging|hanging]].<ref>{{citation | title= Political Prison Camps in North Korea Today | at= 2.1.2 Public and Secret Executions (pp. 455–480) | work= Database Center for North Korean Human Rights | date= July 15, 2011 | url= http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf | accessdate= December 13, 2013 | url-status= dead | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130228031922/http://nkdb.org/bbs1/data/publication/Political_Prison_Camp_in_North_Korea_Today.pdf | archivedate= February 28, 2013 }}</ref> Executions are allegedly used as a means of deterrence, often accompanied by torture.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web | title=North Korea: A case to answer – a call to act| work=Christian Solidarity Worldwide |date=June 20, 2007| url= http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/c8880e0f-f6ed-4585-8f09-4e4b6d11e698/north-korea-a-case-to-answer-a-call-to-act.pdf | accessdate=December 13, 2013|pages=36–37}}</ref>

==See also==
* Human rights in North Korea
* Prisons in North Korea

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=north+korea North Korea] on the Death Penalty Worldwide database
{{Asia in topic|Capital punishment in}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capital Punishment In North Korea}}
[[Category:Human rights abuses]]

{{Sourceattribution|Capital punishment in North Korea|1}}