North Korea
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- dictatorial communist state
- CONSTITUTION
- adopted in 1948, revised numerous times, most recently in 2009
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on the German, Japanese systems and inspired by communist legal doctrine
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, Supreme People's Assembly (Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Central Court, judges elected by the Supreme People's Assembly
RELIGIONS
majority Buddhist and Confucian; minority Christian and others
From the country
- JUNE 21, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Tens of thousands of political prisoners face starvation,...
Tens of thousands of political prisoners face starvation, torture and summary execution in prison camps in North Korea, according to the testimony of a prisoner to a US Senate inquiry
- JUNE 7, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The "conservative" number of North Korean defectors...
The "conservative" number of North Korean defectors hiding in China was estimated at 50,000 at the end of 2001, with 583 of them fleeing to freedom in South Korea, a non-profit United States organisation helping refugees said in its recent annual report
- MAY 31, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Chinese police arrested a group of North Korean defectors...
Chinese police arrested a group of North Korean defectors in Yunnan Province, near the country's border with Laos and Myanmar, between 24 and the 26 May, activists in Seoul said
- APRIL 27, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Human rights activists reported a crackdown on North...
Human rights activists reported a crackdown on North Korean refugees entering China over its northern border, as well as the arrest of South Korean missionaries who try to help them
- MARCH 28, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has ordered all drug...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has ordered all drug users to be executed by shooting, the Russian newspaper Komsomol Pravda reported, citing a senior Russian official
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
A North Korean defector who made headlines in 2000...
A North Korean defector who made headlines in 2000 when he decided to return home in search of his wife has escaped a second time after finding that she and most of his other relatives were killed in retaliation for his earlier defection
- JANUARY 8, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Kim Mun-song, vice trade minister and vice-chairman...
Kim Mun-song, vice trade minister and vice-chairman of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] Committee for the Promotion of External Economic Cooperation [CPEEC], was recently executed by shooting, the South Korean newspaper Choson Ilbo web sit
- JANUARY 1, 2002North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The North Korean penal code stipulates capital punishment...
The North Korean penal code stipulates capital punishment and confiscation of all personal assets for a wide variety of "crimes against the revolution", including attempted defection, listening to foreign broadcasts and possessing "reactionary" printed ma
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
It has been learned that in May and June 2000 a group...
It has been learned that in May and June 2000 a group of more than 30 senior party and company officials, merchants and hooligans were executed in Hyesan City, Jagang province
- NOVEMBER 16, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
It has been learned that in May and June 2000 a group...
It has been learned that in May and June 2000 a group of more than 30 senior party and company officials, merchants and hooligans were executed in Hyesan City, Jagang province
- JULY 27, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The UN's Human Rights Committee welcomed the fact that...
The UN's Human Rights Committee welcomed the fact that North Korea had cut the number of offences carrying a death penalty to five from 33 but noted that four of these offences were largely political
- JULY 22, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
China has launched a campaign of forced repatriation...
China has launched a campaign of forced repatriation of North Korean refugees, according to the international humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders