How the social system deteriorates
What is the function of a society? Each country, each person may answer this in a different way, but there is one thing we can...
Exclusive: Documents and personal items found on the body of a North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast region (1)
HRF’s Korea Desk has been in regular communication with members of the Ukrainian special forces operating in the Kursk Oblast region since December 20. We...
Exclusive: Documents found on the body of a North Korean soldier in Kursk Oblast region (2)
HRF’s Korea Desk has been in regular communication with members of the Ukrainian special forces operating in the Kursk Oblast region since December 20. We...
HRF hosts inaugural NK Insider Forum in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul, Korea — On Dec. 19, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) hosted the inaugural NK Insider Forum, a unique conference addressing critical issues related to North Korean human rights. The theme of this year’s forum, “Cracks in the Regime: The Exodus of North Korea’s Elite and Global Responses,” highlighted the defection of North Korea’s elite and the international community’s role in responding to the ongoing crisis.
One party vs. multiple parties
The most cited difference between countries that are socialist or capitalist is the extent to which individual citizens are able to own the means of...
North Korea’s Internal War Against South Korean Culture and Market Ideas May Be Unwinnable
As the generation of North Koreans who grew up familiar with the jangmadang market system enters adulthood, the state is cracking down harshly to prevent their “impure” attitudes and tastes – which include a preference for South Korean music and movies – from going mainstream.
A prisoner is set free from a camp of no return… Does this signal a shift in policy?
The release of a woman from a “total control zone” labor camp, where prisoners are normally held until they die, has set her neighborhood buzzing...
Secret police use defectors in China to catch remittance brokers
North Korea’s secret police agency is reportedly using defectors in China to identify and apprehend brokers who arrange payments from escapees to family members still...
Did Kim Jong-un’s ‘credit restoration’ order work…China, ramps up investment
Chinese capital appears to have recovered its appetite for investment in North Korea. After a loss of trust in recent years due to repeated breaches...
The political calculation behind Kim Jong-un’s support for Chongryon
Kim Jong Un has reportedly sent over ¥287 million (approximately KRW 2.8 billion) to the pro-North Korean General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known...
Changing loyalties in the North Korean military
Ideological education emphasizes sacrifice for the Leader and the Motherland. (Astrelok / Courtesy of Shutterstock) What is the meaning and purpose of the armed forces?...
Ministry of Social Security drastically tightens control over the people
The Ministry of Social Security, the main law enforcement agency in North Korea, is significantly beefing up its remit and intensifying control over the populace. ...
Why North Korea has not collapsed
Don’t you find it puzzling that North Korea, which always seems like it could collapse at any time, is still standing strong? Our media constantly...
Is China stopping forced repatriation of defectors in pushback against NK-Russia alliance?
Chinese authorities, starting this year, have reportedly stopped sending defectors arrested by public security forces back to North Korea. Instead, they are releasing them with...
Secret police crackdown underway in border area
The secret police have reportedly launched a crackdown on its own people in the border region. With information leaks occurring frequently in areas along the...
Workplaces tasked with handing criminal suspects
North Korean police authorities have taken steps to delegate the handling of criminal suspects to workplaces. According to a source in North Hamgyong Province on...
Where does patriotism come from?
What does it mean to love one’s country? It means to feel pain when the country suffers, and joy when it thrives. It means to...
Why has Christianity become the religion of choice for most defectors?
“There’s no religious freedom in North Korea? What are you talking about—there are churches in North Korea. You know less about North Korea than I...
Border security supplies new phone detectors… ‘3 minutes, 5 meters’
North Korean security authorities have reportedly replaced and supplied new portable radio wave detectors to officers stationed along the border region with China. The move...