Latest items for North Korea
Nov. 8, 2025, 8:34 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"The pattern of violence within the [prison] system is repeated in testimony after testimony and in prison after prison. There are multiple allegations of rape and other forms of sexual assault. Survivors also told the organisation they were forced to undergo abortions. In one case in North Hamgyong Provincial Holding Centre, an interviewee witnessed a fellow detainee being forced to have an abortion while eight months pregnant. She claims the baby survived, but was drowned in a basin of water" (para 25-27). The mention of forced abortions indicates that abortion practices in North Korea are coercive and controlled by the state rather than based on a woman’s legal right or...more
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"The pattern of violence within the [prison] system is repeated in testimony after testimony and in prison after prison. There are multiple allegations of rape and other forms of sexual assault. Survivors also told the organisation they were forced to undergo abortions. In one case in North Hamgyong Provincial Holding Centre, an interviewee witnessed a fellow detainee being forced to have an abortion while eight months pregnant. She claims the baby survived, but was drowned in a basin of water" (para 25-27). The mention of forced abortions indicates that abortion practices in North Korea are coercive and controlled by the state rather than based on a woman’s legal right or...more
Nov. 8, 2025, 7:16 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"Extrajudicial executions, rape, forced abortions, jail without trial, torture, starvation rations that leave prisoners so hungry some turn to eating insects. These are just some of the abuses commonplace in North Korean prisons and other detention facilities, according to former detainees whose testimony forms the basis of a new report released by a human rights watchdog this week" (para 1-2). The mention of forced abortions indicates that abortion practices in North Korea are coercive and controlled by the state rather than based on a woman’s legal right or medical need. This suggests that abortion is not a matter of legal access or protection in cases such as rape or health...more
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"Extrajudicial executions, rape, forced abortions, jail without trial, torture, starvation rations that leave prisoners so hungry some turn to eating insects. These are just some of the abuses commonplace in North Korean prisons and other detention facilities, according to former detainees whose testimony forms the basis of a new report released by a human rights watchdog this week" (para 1-2). The mention of forced abortions indicates that abortion practices in North Korea are coercive and controlled by the state rather than based on a woman’s legal right or medical need. This suggests that abortion is not a matter of legal access or protection in cases such as rape or health...more
Nov. 3, 2025, 1:49 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
The Center for Reproductive Rights states that North Korea's laws permit abortion on request, without a legally defined gestational limit. However, the law is unclear.
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
The Center for Reproductive Rights states that North Korea's laws permit abortion on request, without a legally defined gestational limit. However, the law is unclear.
Oct. 10, 2025, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: RISW-PRACTICE-2
"North Korean women are being searched for breast implants after they were described as being 'un-socialist' and 'bourgeois'. Communist Party members in the city of Sariwon have been ordered to conduct physical examinations of women suspected to have undergone breast augmentation surgery amid fears they have 'become tainted by bourgeois customs. Those suspected will be taken to hospital for examinations and were warned of strict punishments by Kim Jong Un's government if found to have had the procedure, according to South Korean news outlet Daily NK" (para 1-3).
Variables: RISW-PRACTICE-2
"North Korean women are being searched for breast implants after they were described as being 'un-socialist' and 'bourgeois'. Communist Party members in the city of Sariwon have been ordered to conduct physical examinations of women suspected to have undergone breast augmentation surgery amid fears they have 'become tainted by bourgeois customs. Those suspected will be taken to hospital for examinations and were warned of strict punishments by Kim Jong Un's government if found to have had the procedure, according to South Korean news outlet Daily NK" (para 1-3).
Oct. 10, 2025, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: PHBP-PRACTICE-1
"Two [North Korean] women in their 20s appeared on public trial last week after allegedly having breast augmentation surgery from a surgeon who dropped out of medical school...The two women claimed they underwent the surgery to improve their bodies, but the judge dismissed this, saying they were instead 'obsessed with vanity'" (para. 5,8).
Variables: PHBP-PRACTICE-1
"Two [North Korean] women in their 20s appeared on public trial last week after allegedly having breast augmentation surgery from a surgeon who dropped out of medical school...The two women claimed they underwent the surgery to improve their bodies, but the judge dismissed this, saying they were instead 'obsessed with vanity'" (para. 5,8).
Oct. 10, 2025, 9:26 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: PHBP-LAW-1
"Breast augmentations are considered as 'non-socialist behavior' in North Korea and are banned from being carried out official medical institutions" (para 4).
Variables: PHBP-LAW-1
"Breast augmentations are considered as 'non-socialist behavior' in North Korea and are banned from being carried out official medical institutions" (para 4).
April 10, 2025, 8:34 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: GIC-LAW-1
"But what about North Korea? Much like in the South, the North has both encouraged and discouraged childbearing over the years, with its population policy going through three distinct phases of pro-fertility from 1945-1970, family planning from the early 1970s to early 1990s and now back to the pro-natalist approach since around 1993. This latest phase under Kim Jong Il and now Kim Jong Un has been limited to propaganda statements extolling the greatness of childbearing and insisting that Korean women should have more children. In 2018, for instance, the Rodong Sinmun editorialized that 'all women must give birth to even more children, for the sake of the motherland’s future'"...more
Variables: GIC-LAW-1
"But what about North Korea? Much like in the South, the North has both encouraged and discouraged childbearing over the years, with its population policy going through three distinct phases of pro-fertility from 1945-1970, family planning from the early 1970s to early 1990s and now back to the pro-natalist approach since around 1993. This latest phase under Kim Jong Il and now Kim Jong Un has been limited to propaganda statements extolling the greatness of childbearing and insisting that Korean women should have more children. In 2018, for instance, the Rodong Sinmun editorialized that 'all women must give birth to even more children, for the sake of the motherland’s future'"...more
April 10, 2025, 8:34 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: BR-DATA-1
"The country’s fertility rate keeps slowly sliding down, reaching an estimated 1.9 in 2019. While not as bad as in the South, the figure is unusually low for such a poor country. The result is that North Korea is one of the few countries that has seen its population begin to age while still poor" (para 4).
Variables: BR-DATA-1
"The country’s fertility rate keeps slowly sliding down, reaching an estimated 1.9 in 2019. While not as bad as in the South, the figure is unusually low for such a poor country. The result is that North Korea is one of the few countries that has seen its population begin to age while still poor" (para 4).
April 10, 2025, 8:34 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"In 1993, North Korea criminalized abortion, which had been legal for a while" (para 23).
Variables: ABO-LAW-1
"In 1993, North Korea criminalized abortion, which had been legal for a while" (para 23).
April 9, 2025, 8:09 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-1
"North Korea is a deeply patriarchal society, and women have traditionally been defined by two words: mother and wife. But when famine hit the country in the 1990s and the public food distribution system disintegrated, it was left to women to try to earn money to feed their families. And the state, obsessed with controlling the lives of men, mainly ignored what women were doing. Many began working in markets, some of which were legal, some illegal, selling what they could to supplement the meagre wages of their husbands’ factory jobs. With this shift, it became a whole new lexicon that was derogatory around men, because the economic power had...more
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-1
"North Korea is a deeply patriarchal society, and women have traditionally been defined by two words: mother and wife. But when famine hit the country in the 1990s and the public food distribution system disintegrated, it was left to women to try to earn money to feed their families. And the state, obsessed with controlling the lives of men, mainly ignored what women were doing. Many began working in markets, some of which were legal, some illegal, selling what they could to supplement the meagre wages of their husbands’ factory jobs. With this shift, it became a whole new lexicon that was derogatory around men, because the economic power had...more
April 9, 2025, 8:09 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-3
"Jung was fascinated when North Korean defectors she interviewed used the word matriarchy. She related one conversation with a woman in her 50s. She stated that women often say the patriarchy has fallen in favour of the matriarchy … And if women were once under their husband’s thumbs, men are now afraid they will be kicked out of their homes by their wives" (para 8-9).
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-3
"Jung was fascinated when North Korean defectors she interviewed used the word matriarchy. She related one conversation with a woman in her 50s. She stated that women often say the patriarchy has fallen in favour of the matriarchy … And if women were once under their husband’s thumbs, men are now afraid they will be kicked out of their homes by their wives" (para 8-9).
April 9, 2025, 8:09 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-1, DMW-PRACTICE-1
"North Korea is a deeply patriarchal society, and women have traditionally been defined by two words: mother and wife" (para 5).
Variables: ATFPA-PRACTICE-1, DMW-PRACTICE-1
"North Korea is a deeply patriarchal society, and women have traditionally been defined by two words: mother and wife" (para 5).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-LAW-1
"The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to increase women’s participation in the labor force" (para 7).
Variables: ERBG-LAW-1
"The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to increase women’s participation in the labor force" (para 7).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: AFE-LAW-1, CONST-LAW-1
"North Korea’s constitution theoretically guarantees gender equality, and women have legal rights to education, employment, and participation in political life" (para 7).
Variables: AFE-LAW-1, CONST-LAW-1
"North Korea’s constitution theoretically guarantees gender equality, and women have legal rights to education, employment, and participation in political life" (para 7).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ASR-PRACTICE-1
"The survey also found that restrictions are in place that limit women to certain fields of study, such as teaching, nursing, and accounting" (para 11).
Variables: ASR-PRACTICE-1
"The survey also found that restrictions are in place that limit women to certain fields of study, such as teaching, nursing, and accounting" (para 11).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DACH-LAW-1
"The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to… , provide access to education and health care" (para 7).
Variables: DACH-LAW-1
"The North Korean government further says it has implemented policies to promote women’s rights and gender equality. These include initiatives to… , provide access to education and health care" (para 7).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DLB-DATA-1
"This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of 'raising children' (25.6 percent) and 'supporting the household economy' (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society" (para 11).
Variables: DLB-DATA-1
"This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of 'raising children' (25.6 percent) and 'supporting the household economy' (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society" (para 11).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: DMW-PRACTICE-1
"Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions" (para 9).
Variables: DMW-PRACTICE-1
"Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions" (para 9).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-3
"[O]nly an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children" (para 13).
Variables: ERBG-DATA-3
"[O]nly an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children" (para 13).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-1
"Indeed, the survey provides further evidence that North Korean women are often directed toward careers deemed more suitable by the state, such as teaching or healthcare, rather than fields such as science or technology" (para 11).
Variables: ERBG-PRACTICE-1
"Indeed, the survey provides further evidence that North Korean women are often directed toward careers deemed more suitable by the state, such as teaching or healthcare, rather than fields such as science or technology" (para 11).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: MULV-LAW-1
"In addition, the survey showed that women in North Korea are significantly affected by the country’s system of 'non-tax burdens.' This system refers to irregular or semi-regular mandatory contributions imposed by the regime, including everything from cash to firewood. The survey found that women are asked to help pay for construction projects in Pyongyang, provide funds to build neighborhoods in their areas, and raise funds to send to the military, which is focused on advancing the country’s nuclear program. Women who do not work (only an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children) are also required to be members of the Social...more
Variables: MULV-LAW-1
"In addition, the survey showed that women in North Korea are significantly affected by the country’s system of 'non-tax burdens.' This system refers to irregular or semi-regular mandatory contributions imposed by the regime, including everything from cash to firewood. The survey found that women are asked to help pay for construction projects in Pyongyang, provide funds to build neighborhoods in their areas, and raise funds to send to the military, which is focused on advancing the country’s nuclear program. Women who do not work (only an estimated 5-10 percent of women in North Korea remain in the workforce after having children) are also required to be members of the Social...more
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: LBHO-LAW-1
"The North Korean government claims that women have the right to participate in politics and that women hold leadership and decision-making positions in government and other institutions" (para 7).
Variables: LBHO-LAW-1
"The North Korean government claims that women have the right to participate in politics and that women hold leadership and decision-making positions in government and other institutions" (para 7).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: WAM-PRACTICE-1
"While women in North Korea are highlighted in state propaganda as 'cogs in the revolutionary wheel of society,' in reality they are expected to fulfill the role of 'faithful housekeepers.' Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions. These cultural attitudes reinforce gender inequalities in many aspects of life. It should come as little surprise that North Korea’s leadership and state-run media play an important role in imposing traditional roles on North Korean women" (para 9-10). "North Korean women’s attitudes appear to have been affected by...more
Variables: WAM-PRACTICE-1
"While women in North Korea are highlighted in state propaganda as 'cogs in the revolutionary wheel of society,' in reality they are expected to fulfill the role of 'faithful housekeepers.' Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions. These cultural attitudes reinforce gender inequalities in many aspects of life. It should come as little surprise that North Korea’s leadership and state-run media play an important role in imposing traditional roles on North Korean women" (para 9-10). "North Korean women’s attitudes appear to have been affected by...more
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: MULV-PRACTICE-1
"Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions" (para 9). "This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of 'raising children' (25.6 percent) and 'supporting the household economy' (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society" (para 11).
Variables: MULV-PRACTICE-1
"Given the patriarchal nature of North Korean society, traditional gender roles are deeply ingrained in North Korean society, with women expected to prioritize family and domestic duties over personal or professional ambitions" (para 9). "This situation helps explain why the survey found that women in North Korea are most likely to take on the role of 'raising children' (25.6 percent) and 'supporting the household economy' (22.2 percent) in order to contribute to the development of society" (para 11).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-2
"Equally troubling, some 70 percent of respondents had never heard of North Korea’s Women’s Rights Protection Law (a 2010 law that establishes basic protections and rights for women), and only 16.7 percent had ever received education about women’s rights" (para 5). "While North Korea does have a petition system that allows women to voice complaints about their circumstances – including corruption and sex crimes – the survey found that most respondents believe the system is useless, and some even did not know where to file petitions" (para 15).
Variables: LRW-PRACTICE-2
"Equally troubling, some 70 percent of respondents had never heard of North Korea’s Women’s Rights Protection Law (a 2010 law that establishes basic protections and rights for women), and only 16.7 percent had ever received education about women’s rights" (para 5). "While North Korea does have a petition system that allows women to voice complaints about their circumstances – including corruption and sex crimes – the survey found that most respondents believe the system is useless, and some even did not know where to file petitions" (para 15).
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: LRW-DATA-1
"Recently... Daily NK, with the support of the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, conducted a survey of 30 North Korean women inside the country, as well as 10 North Korean defectors, to delve deeper into the state of women’s rights in North Korea. The results were alarming: More than half of the respondents reported sexual victimization by officials in state institutions such as the national police agency and correctional centers, while a staggering 73 percent said they had encountered instances in the workplace, military, or markets where officials coerced, cajoled, or tricked them into having sex in exchange for promotions or business opportunities. The findings lend credence...more
Variables: LRW-DATA-1
"Recently... Daily NK, with the support of the Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Korea, conducted a survey of 30 North Korean women inside the country, as well as 10 North Korean defectors, to delve deeper into the state of women’s rights in North Korea. The results were alarming: More than half of the respondents reported sexual victimization by officials in state institutions such as the national police agency and correctional centers, while a staggering 73 percent said they had encountered instances in the workplace, military, or markets where officials coerced, cajoled, or tricked them into having sex in exchange for promotions or business opportunities. The findings lend credence...more
March 28, 2025, 5:46 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: LBHO-PRACTICE-2
"The survey found that... only a small percentage (9.4 percent) believe that women can become government or party officials" (para 14).
Variables: LBHO-PRACTICE-2
"The survey found that... only a small percentage (9.4 percent) believe that women can become government or party officials" (para 14).
Feb. 26, 2025, 8:40 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: CWC-DATA-3
"According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, 81 percent of North Korean escapees in 2019 were female, prior to the Covid-19 related border closure. This can partly be explained by the decreased scrutiny women face compared to men in North Korea, as men are required to go to state-run workplaces while many married women stay at home to care for the family" (par. 8).
Variables: CWC-DATA-3
"According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification, 81 percent of North Korean escapees in 2019 were female, prior to the Covid-19 related border closure. This can partly be explained by the decreased scrutiny women face compared to men in North Korea, as men are required to go to state-run workplaces while many married women stay at home to care for the family" (par. 8).
Feb. 26, 2025, 8:40 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-2
"Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, women were estimated to contribute more than 70 percent of the country’s household incomes" (par. 10).
Variables: ERBG-DATA-2
"Prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, women were estimated to contribute more than 70 percent of the country’s household incomes" (par. 10).
Feb. 26, 2025, 8:40 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ERBG-DATA-1
"The wages of North Koreans in official, state-approved ordinary workers’ roles are capped at pre-1990s prices, equivalent to an average of seven to nine kilograms of corn per month, which were eclipsed by market vendor earnings. Many North Korean women became the primary breadwinners of their families" (par. 10).
Variables: ERBG-DATA-1
"The wages of North Koreans in official, state-approved ordinary workers’ roles are capped at pre-1990s prices, equivalent to an average of seven to nine kilograms of corn per month, which were eclipsed by market vendor earnings. Many North Korean women became the primary breadwinners of their families" (par. 10).