Page 92 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

Introduction

The human rights landscape in North Korea is a multifaceted
issue, underscored by three principal areas of concern. The
first involves rampant human rights abuses under the Kim
Jong-Un regime, where a privileged minority lives lavishly
while the majority grapples with food shortages, information
deprivation, and restrictions on mobility and free speech.
Despite North Korea’s ratification of various UN human
rights conventions, it is still considered among the world’s
most oppressive regimes, scoring a dismal 3 out of 100 in a
Freedom House survey.

Moreover, the correlation between North Korea’s military
aggression and its human rights violations is profound.
According to the Korean Ministry of Unification, since the
1970s, the North Korean regime has spent approximately
1.6 billion USD on nuclear development. This amount
could have solved the food shortage for all 25 million North
Korean citizens for four years, or could have funded two to
three rounds of vaccinations for the entire population. This
underscores the regime’s allocation of essential resources
toward military capabilities, prioritizing its security interests
over addressing the fundamental needs of its citizens.

Further, the regime has “Three Evil Laws,” which include
the Law on Prohibiting Reactionary Thought, the Law on
Ensuring Youth Education, and the Pyongyang Culture and
Language Protection Law. These act as potent instruments of
suppression, controlling external influences and the flow of

Chapter Six : Unveiling the North Korean Human Rights Quandary 91