”Spreading K-POP is punishable by death”...North Korea raises extreme tension over the spread of Korean culture

It has been stated that North Korea is taking strong measures, including seeking the up to death penalty, to block the spread of Korean culture, including K-POP.
According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 4th, Elizabeth Salmon, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea, who is investigating the human rights situation in North Korea, said on the 2nd
In an interview with a newspaper, he said, "Cultural control is becoming increasingly tough in North Korea, with the spread of Korean culture such as K-POP being punishable by up to death."
In her report to the UN Human Rights Council in February this year, Salmon said North Korean authorities have become extremely sensitive to the influence of South Korean culture.
According to the report, North Korea has enacted a number of laws to suppress freedom of thought and expression since 2020, including a "reactionary thought" law that punishes people who come into contact with or spread South Korean music or TV series.
These include the "Korean Culture Expulsion Act" and laws that crack down on Korean-style speech. "People who come into contact with Korean culture could be sentenced not only to long prison terms, but even to the death penalty," she said.
"This shows that the North Korean government is worried about the infiltration of South Korean culture into the country," he said. North Korea is also facing serious food shortages.
According to surveys by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other organisations, the proportion of the population suffering from malnutrition has soared from 34.3% in 2004-2006 to 45.5% in 2020-2022.
The combination of factors including international isolation due to border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the refusal of humanitarian aid from overseas, and policies that prioritize the military over the lives of the people have had a major impact.
The report also touched on the issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea. She said that she had met with the mother of abductee Megumi Yokota on the 1st of this month, and that she would continue to support the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea.
He stressed that in negotiations with North Korea, the international community should address not only security issues such as ballistic missiles, but also the abduction issue.
Special Rapporteurs are experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to conduct independent investigations.
Rapporteur Rumon is an international law scholar and former member of Peru, appointed in 2022. This is her first official visit to Japan, and she stayed in Japan from the 30th of last month to the 5th of this month, during which she met with the families of the abduction victims and the Japanese
He is scheduled to meet with government officials and report the results of his visit at the UN General Assembly in October.