The U.S. has assessed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime “maintains control through atrocities and coercion, including executions, physical abuse, enforced disappearances, and collective punishment,” according to the 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the State Department on the 12th (local time).
However, reflecting President Trump’s relatively lower interest in human rights, the section on North Korea in this year’s report is only about half as long as those under the Biden administration, and in particular, contains almost no criticism of the Kim family’s hereditary political system.
The State Department described North Korea as a society where “arbitrary or unlawful killings and disappearances, torture,” as well as “coercive medical or psychological practices, arbitrary arrest or detention, forced labor including human trafficking, and the worst forms of child labor” occur. These expressions have been highlighted in past reports as well. The main change in this first report issued under Trump’s second administration is the noticeable reduction in criticism of the North Korean political system.
Under Biden, the North Korea section had grown in length — 35 pages in 2021, 47 pages in 2022, 48 pages in 2023, and 53 pages in 2024 — but this year it was reduced to just 25 pages. Notably, issues such as the conditions in political prison camps and corruption within the government, which had been raised every year, were omitted entirely. The statement in last year’s report that “North Koreans cannot choose their government through free and fair elections and no opposition parties are allowed” — pointing to the undemocratic nature of the Kim Jong-un regime — also disappeared. This is reportedly due to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s directive not to comment on the legitimacy or fairness of other countries’ electoral systems.
Some observers suggest that this reduction may be intentional to avoid provoking North Korea in case President Trump seeks to resume U.S.-North Korea dialogue. Human rights issues have long been an area to which the Kim regime reacts extremely sensitively, calling them “interference in internal affairs.”
- The US criticizes South Korea for suppressing free speech, but didn’t denounce martial law
Regarding South Korea’s human rights situation, the report cited restrictions on freedom of expression as a major concern. It stated, “The South Korean government restricted freedom of expression through the interpretation and enforcement of the National Security Law and other laws and constitutional provisions, and restricted access via the internet.” It also referred to statements from media outlets and journalists’ unions on such restrictions and concerns over fairness raised about the Korea Communications Standards Commission.
The report further mentioned the conflict that began in February last year between the government and medical students, residents, and interns over expanding medical school enrollment as a case of violating workers’ rights. In contrast, it did not mention the December 2024 martial law incident under former President Yoon Suk-yeol, which had caused political turmoil, impeachment, an early presidential election.
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