Since the division of the Korean Peninsula, North and South Korea have each developed their own legal systems, with the North Korean criminal justice system strengthening its dictatorship. For instance, while North Korean criminal law meticulously defines political crimes and defines guilt by association in case of violation, the law focuses little on crimes against individual rights. According to a report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on the DPRK, non-humanitarian punishments such as public executions have been conducted in North Korea. Moreover, although the country ostensibly employs two trial systems, at times a single trial system is applied depending on the nature of the case. These facts demonstrate the unlikelihood that rule of law exists in North Korea. As a result, in the event of a unification between North and South Korea, there will be difficulties unifying the criminal justice system. This paper therefore offers several suggestions on reforming the North Korean criminal justice system based on both the principles of rule of law and international human rights law. First, inappropriate provisions related to political crimes should be removed. Second, more detailed provisions for the prohibition of non-humanitarian punishment is needed following the provisions of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Third, a three-trial system and system of writs, both of which are not allowed under the current situation, should be guaranteed for defendants’ rights, and the right to defense should be improved. In the near future, it will be necessary to exchange information about each Korea’s legal system and consistently develop the system in terms of rule of law.