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U.S. report halves pages on North Korea's human rights, eschews criticism of political system

Published: 13 Aug. 2025, 09:02

The U.S. State Department on April 23. [YONHAP]

The U.S. State Department accused the North Korean government of using "brutality" and "coercion" to keep its grips on the reclusive country in an annual report released Tuesday, but more than halved the amount of reporting on the regime and omitted criticism of Pyongyang's political system.

The department released the 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which documents the status of respect for human rights and workers' rights in countries around the world. It marks the first such report under the second Trump administration.

The report came amid speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration might pay relatively less attention to human rights issues as Trump is pushing for his signature policy agenda, including reducing America's trade deficits and bolstering foreign investments and domestic manufacturing.

"The government, through brutality and coercion including executions, physical abuse, enforced disappearances, and collective punishment, maintained control of the country," the report said.

"There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea during the year," it added, referring to the North by its official name.

The report cited "credible reports of "significant" human rights issues in the North, including arbitrary or unlawful killings; disappearances; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices; and arbitrary arrest or detention.

While such issues have been commonly cited in past reports, the sharp reduction of pages dedicated to North Korea this year was notable.

In last year's report issued under the administration of former President Joe Biden, the North Korea section had 53 pages, while this year's report has only 25.

This year's edition does not mention the election or political system in the North, while last year's version explained the inability of North Korean citizens to change their government through "free and fair" elections as well as "serious and unreasonable" restrictions on political participation.

The report comes as Trump has expressed his openness to engaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and affirmed his commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea.

The human rights report is based on various resources, including media, nongovernmental organization and UN reports.

Yonhap