North Korea
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 3
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · A commentary on Korean Criminal Law considers the use...
- News items in the archive
- 257
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
North Korea is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 3 the year before. The archive holds 257 news items on North Korea, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JULY 20, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Sim Hyong-il, a director of the Supreme People's Assembly's...
Sim Hyong-il, a director of the Supreme People's Assembly's legislation committee, announced at a question-and-answer session on the first of a two-day review of its second periodic report, submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee, that the number of de
- APRIL 11, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
People who openly proclaimed their Christian faith...
People who openly proclaimed their Christian faith in North Korea risked persecution and death at the hands of government forces
- MARCH 20, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
According to reports and analyses released by a South...
According to reports and analyses released by a South Korean government-funded research institute, the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), North Korea has a long way to go before its human right standards are on par with the rest of the world
- MARCH 20, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
According to reports and analyses released by a South...
According to reports and analyses released by a South Korean government-funded research institute, the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), North Korea has a long way to go before its human right standards are on par with the rest of the world
- FEBRUARY 27, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- FEBRUARY 27, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- JANUARY 1, 2001North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
North Korea submitted a report to the U
North Korea submitted a report to the U
- JANUARY 1, 2001North 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
- APRIL 29, 2000North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
China expatriated 60 refugees back to North Korea
China expatriated 60 refugees back to North Korea
- JANUARY 14, 2000North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
South Korean President Kim Tae-chung instructed the...
South Korean President Kim Tae-chung instructed the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Yi Chong-pin, to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Ho Young Il, 30, and six other North Koreans defectors, whom China had repatriated on January 12
- JANUARY 1, 2000North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Simple acts of prayer have reportedly resulted in life...
Simple acts of prayer have reportedly resulted in life in prison and executions
- JANUARY 1, 2000North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- JANUARY 1, 2000North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty is mandatory for political offenses...
The death penalty is mandatory for political offenses and has reportedly been handed down for ordinary crimes and for theft and embezzlement
- JULY 22, 1999North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
The Democratic Republic of Korea signed the letter,...
The Democratic Republic of Korea signed the letter, dated 22 July 1999, addressed to the President of the Economic and Social Council, in which the retentionist countries dissociated from the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1999/61 on the question o
- JULY 1, 1999North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
In July, North Korea shot a total of 30 people at a...
In July, North Korea shot a total of 30 people at a hop farm next to Yonbong airport in Hyesan city, North Hamgyong Province
- APRIL 3, 1999North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
On April 3, it was announced that over 750 public executions...
On April 3, it was announced that over 750 public executions had been carried out between 1995 and 1998 as part of a campaign to repress the criminality engendered by the country's economic crisis
- JANUARY 1, 1999North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
A commentary on Korean Criminal Law considers the use...
A commentary on Korean Criminal Law considers the use of the death penalty as a last resort, in view of eventual abolition