Part I
Purpose of Publication and Research Methodology
The White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea, which the Korea Institute for National Unification has published annually since 1996, aims to raise awareness of North Korean human rights issues at home and abroad and to provide related basic materials by objectively surveying and analyzing the North Korean human rights situation. The White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2023 incorporates information from in-depth interviews with 71 North Korean defectors who had lived in North Korea most recently before entering South Korea. These interviewees were selected with consideration of their demographic and social backgrounds. This White Paper 2023 classifies and analyzes the human rights situation in the North under the following parts: The Reality of Civil and Political Rights; The Reality of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Vulnerable Groups; and Major Issues.
 

Part I Purpose of Publication and Research Methodology
1 Purpose of Publication _ 34
2 Research Methodology _ 36
3 Human Rights Policy in North Korea _ 45

Part II The Reality of Civil and Political Rights
1 Right to Life_66
2 Right Not to Be Tortured or Receive Inhuman Treatment _ 87
3 Right to Liberty and Security of Person _ 132
4 Right to Freedom of Movement and Residence _ 148
5 Right to a Fair Trial _ 173
6 Right to Privacy _ 205
7 Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion _ 224
8 Right to Freedom of Expression and Access to Information_243
9 Right to Freedom of Assembly and Association _ 278
10 Right to Political Participation _ 287

Part III The Reality of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
1 Right to Food _ 302
2 Right to Health _ 335
3 Right to Work _ 385
4 Right to Education _ 408
5 Right to Social Security _ 436

Part IV Vulnerable Groups
1 Women_466
2 Children_509
3 Persons with Disabilities _ 546

Part V Major Issues
1 Political Prison Camps (Kwanliso) _ 590
2 Overseas Defectors _ 608
3 Overseas Workers _ 647
4 Separated Families and Special Separated Families_ 678
5 Disasters_730
6 Discrimination and Inequality _ 765