By 
GHRD Research Team
Peteranta, April 17, 2018
A small number of North Korean refugees speak up about horrific human rights violations perpetrated by the country’s dictatorship following the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the 2019 total lockdown in the country, systematic and widespread human rights violations have never stopped.
Reports of extreme human rights violations in North Korea continue as some brave North Korean refugees report systematic abuse in the country since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and advocate for intervention from the International community.
A report published by Human Rights Watch on March 5th, 2025, highlighted the critical outcome of North Korea’s COVID-19-related repression policies, following the testimonies of horrendous human rights violations reported during the 55th United Nations Human Rights Council session in March 2024.
As evidenced by these testimonies, since the pandemic, the dictatorship has imposed rigid restrictions on economic activity, stricter constraints on people’s limited freedoms, and has aggravated the punishment for the families of those who escape the country.
In light of these reports, during the 55th Session, the UN Human Rights Council was urged to renew the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on North Korea and adjust the mandate of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for North Korea investigation.
The March report further illustrates the joint research conducted by Human Rights Watch and the Transitional Justice Working Group on eight North Koreans who successfully fled their home country and now live abroad. They described the significant violations of human rights perpetrated in North Korea, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In particular, the eight refugees reported a lack of information on the nature of the virus, harsh restrictions on movement, and limitations in access to food, medicine, soap, and sanitisers to protect against the spread of the disease.
Furthermore, the eight stories highlighted how, since 2020, the ideological control and surveillance carried out by the North Korean military have become more stringent. This meant that, on the one hand, the dictatorship strived to arrest anyone looking for information on the pandemic through foreign sources and, on the other hand, disregarded any measures to protect the country’s economy, which has been in complete isolation for five years.
In fact, in 2019, North Korea closed its northern border with China, halted trade with Beijing, and prohibited fishing within its territory, causing starvation across the country.
The Human Rights Watch report is also consistent with broader research conducted between 2014 and 2023 that interviewed 147 North Koreans who had managed to leave their country. Regardless of the age, social status, and gender of the teller, all the stories are similar and describe how North Korea’s dictatorship has always prioritised militarisation over social welfare. Nonetheless, all the witnesses agreed that since 2020, the control over the Korean population has become harsher, and currently, capital executions take place regularly.
Finally, the report discusses how evidence of systematic, daily, and widespread human rights violations is evident to the International Community, although North Korea continues to deny these accusations. For instance, in November 2024, North Korea labelled the annual UN Human Rights Council Resolution on North Korean human rights as a “political provocation”.
From the gathered testimony, the persistent human rights violations in North Korea were brought to international attention. Although the inhumane practices of the Korean dictatorship had been disclosed in the past, the 2024 and 2025 reports are the first time we have witnessed the country’s situation after COVID-19. Moreover, these reports show how the action taken by the International Community has been insufficient so far and how further action is required soon.
Sources and Further Readings:
North Korea: Escapees Describe Covid-Linked Repression
North Korea: Escapees Describe Covid-Linked Repression
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