Organized Persecution: Documenting Religious Freedom Violations in North Korea

This report documents the North Korean government’s religious freedom violations based on primary information gathered over the past year from in-person interviews with North Korean defectors who are survivors, witnesses, and perpetrators of these violations. The latter of which were former North Korean government officials who provided unique insights into these religious freedom violations. The report assesses the organizational structure of religious freedom violations; the associated methods of enforcing compliance; and specific forms of violations, torture, and mistreatment experienced by religion and belief adherents. It finds that the North Korean government’s policy of absolute denial of religious freedom has led to systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of this right.