North Korea has significantly increased executions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a notable rise in cases involving the consumption of foreign media, according to a recent report by the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), a South Korean human rights organization. The research, released on Tuesday, is based on the testimonies of defectors and information gathered from sources inside the secretive country.

Since Pyongyang closed its borders in January 2020 to curb the spread of coronavirus, the number of executions and death sentences more than doubled compared to the nearly five years before the closure. The TJWG documented 367 executions or death sentences since Kim Jong Un assumed power in 2011, with nearly two-thirds of these occurring during two key periods: the early years of Kim’s rule from 2012 to 2014, and the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 to 2021.

The report highlights a sharp increase in executions related to foreign cultural consumption, including South Korean movies, dramas, and pop music such as BTS. These cases, which encompass charges involving religion and so-called “superstition,” rose substantially after the border shutdown—jumping from 7 cases to 38 in the pandemic period. Meanwhile, executions for murder declined by more than 40 percent during the same timeframe.

Authorities have intensified ideological control to prevent what they describe as “ideological and cultural poisoning” from foreign media, particularly South Korean broadcasts, which are viewed as a serious threat to the regime’s stability. In North Korea, televisions and radios cannot receive foreign signals, so smuggled CDs, DVDs, and memory sticks are key sources of outside entertainment and information.

Political offenses remain the second most common cause of capital punishment. Executions for political dissent—including criticism of Kim Jong Un—signal a continued use of the death penalty as a tool to suppress internal dissent and maintain regime control. Other capital crimes documented by the group include violations of pandemic controls, illegal wealth accumulation, kidnapping, rape, prison escape, and smuggling.

Almost three-quarters of executions were reportedly carried out in public, typically by rifle or machine gun. A small number involved hangings and extreme forms of corporal punishment. Instances of executions have occurred in various locations across the country, including Pyongyang, farmland, riverbanks, and disused facilities.

Due to North Korea’s closed nature and absence of independent media or international observers, independent verification of these figures remains challenging. Nonetheless, the accounts are consistent with prior reports and testimonies from defectors collected by human rights experts.

The TJWG’s findings underscore concerns about worsening human rights conditions in North Korea amid the pandemic, as the regime appears to have expanded its repressive measures under the guise of ideological and social control.