Objectives ZZThis study was conducted to translate the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R)into North Korean language and confirm its reliability and validity. MethodsZZA total of 207 North Korean defectors recruited from the Call Center for North KoreanDefectors participated in this study. Psychiatrists and psychiatric residents interviewed theparticipants individually and made psychiatric diagnosis. Subsequently, they completed the BriefPsychological State Inventory for North Korean Refugees (BPSI-NKR), the Center for EpidemiologicStudies Depression Scale-North Korea (CES-D-NK), and the Alcohol Use Disorders IdentificationTest-North Korea (AUDIT-NK) as well as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised-North Korea(IES-R-NK). Of the original participants, 143 subjects participated in test-retest reliability studyafter one week. ResultsZZThe internal consistency using Cronbach’s α was superior in both male and femalefrom North Korea. In addition, the temporal stability was also satisfactory. A good convergentvalidity was clearly shown by significant correlations with BPSI-PTSD and CES-D-NK, respectively. On the other hand, IES-R-NK had no or weak correlations with AUDIT-NK and BPSI-NKRalcohol,demonstrating its satisfactory discriminant validity. ConclusionZZIES-R-NK might be considered as a short and valid screening tool for identificationof PTSD symptoms in North Korean defectors.