Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and the Right to Freedom of Religion, Thought, and Conscience in North Korea

This report finds North Korea’s ongoing religious freedom violations are driven by highly organized efforts of the Workers’ Party of Korea to enforce an ideology known as Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. It contributes to significant advances in understanding how and why this ideology is implemented across North Korea and presents implications for the deterrence of perpetrators and the pursuit of accountability and justice.

In 2021, USCIRF issued a report titled “Organized Persecution: Documenting Religious Freedom Violations in North Korea” which documented evidence from in-person interviews with North Korean defectors who are survivors, witnesses, and perpetrators of religious freedom violations.