Overview

North Korea is one of the most oppressive regimes in modern history. Although few non-North Koreans are allowed access to the country, some journalists have uncovered the truth about the corrupt government. North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship first run by Kim Il-Sung and then by his son Kim Jong-Il, which is now run by Kim Jong-Il’s son, Kim Jong-Un, who all took the title “Supreme Leader” while in power.

The North Korean government brainwashes its citizens by teaching them that Kim Jong-Il was a god whose story began with a miraculous birth atop a legendary Korean mountain. Kim Jong-Un is similarly as a supreme moral entity with supernatural powers.

The North Korean government operates 450,000 Revolutionary Research Centers for weekly indoctrination sessions, where attendees are taught that Kim Jong-il was a deity figure whose story began with a miraculous birth atop a legendary Korean mountain. Kim Jong-un, now known as Dear Leader, is similarly described in these Revolutionary Research Centers as a supreme moral entity with supernatural powers.

The North Korean government divides its citizens into three castes based on their perceived loyalty to Dear Leader: core, wavering, and hostile. Most of the wealth is concentrated among the core, while the hostile--a category that includes all members of minority faiths, as well as descendants of perceived enemies of the state--are denied employment and subject to starvation.

The North Korean government enforces loyalty and obedience through its Ministry of People's Security, which requires citizens to spy on each another, including family members. Anyone who is overheard saying anything perceived as critical to the government is subject to a reduced loyalty group rating, torture, execution, or imprisonment in one of North Korea's ten brutal concentration camps.

All radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines, and church sermons are government-controlled and focus on praise of the Dear Leader. Anyone who makes contact with foreigners in any way, or listens to foreign radio stations is in danger of any of the penalties described above. Traveling outside of North Korea is also forbidden, and can carry a penalty of death.

During the 1990s, as many as 3.5 million North Koreans died of starvation. Sanctions are not imposed on North Korea primarily because they would block grain donations, resulting in the deaths of millions more, a possibility that does not appear to concern the Dear Leader. Malnutrition is almost universal except among the ruling class; the average North Korean 7-year-old is eight inches shorter than the average South Korean child of the same age.

The North Korean government maintains ten concentration camps, with a total of between 200,000 and 250,000 prisoners contained therein. Conditions in the camps are terrible, and the annual casualty rate has been estimated as high as 25%. The North Korean government has no due process system, imprisoning, torturing, and executing prisoners at will. Public executions, in particular, are a common sight in North Korea.

The North Korean government regularly breaks treaties, reducing the value of diplomacy as a human rights strategy.

The death of Kim Jong-il in 2012 has introduced a new generation of leadership, which may respond to international pressure in a more practical way.