This study contemplates the institution and situation of North Korea’s human rights from the 1990s to 2016 in terms of continuity and change, and analyzes the influencing factors in order to provide the base reference in devising a measure to improve human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). To this end, the study bases changing trends of North Korea’s institution on the enactment and amendment of relevant legislations. There are, however, limitations to assessing the degree of respect for human rights solely based on the existence or maintenance of human rights-related legal provisions in North Korea that has yet to establish the rule of law. Yet, the enactment or amendment of basic legislations on human rights allows an objective assessment of institutional protection of human rights in North Korean society, and acts as an indicator of changes in policy and perception held by North Korean authorities concerning the improvement of human rights. Moreover, change in legislation fundamentally reflect changes in society, and allow the internal and external factors that induce such changes to be easily identified given that pinpointing the exact time of legislative enactment is possible. Meanwhile, the situation of human rights of North Korean residents can be confirmed by analyzing the operation of relevant institutions. Therefore, this study analyzes the effect of normative changes in the North Korean human rights situation based on changes in relevant legislations...