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UN report points to medical experiments, infanticide targeting disabled people in North Korea

Published: 05 Sep. 2025, 15:38

A disabled person rides a tricycle on Changgwang Street in Pyongyang in this undated file photo [JOONGANG ILBO]

The United Nations has expressed concern over grave human rights violations against disabled people in North Korea, including the killing of infants, forced abortions, sterilizations of women and medical and scientific experimentation.

U.S.-based outlet NK News on Thursday cited a report by the UN Convention the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that said such abuses persist in the North, where disabled people “live under deep-rooted stigma and negative perceptions across society.”

Disabled people are confined to segregated facilities that severely restrict their freedom of movement, while some are placed in collective settlements designated specifically for people with certain conditions, according to the report.

The committee also raised suspicions of “medical and scientific experiments” conducted on people with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, calling them violations of the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

“Some parents entrusted their children to the state even while knowing they could be used in experiments,” said Nam Ba-da, secretary general of the Seoul-based NGO People for Successful Corean Reunification (Pscore). “Disabled children were banned from residing in Pyongyang, forcing entire families to leave the capital.”

The report also referred to evidence of infanticide carried out in medical institutions with official approval, as well as suspected executions of disabled people. Children in rural areas face risks of isolation and neglect, with little access to basic medical checkups.

Women with disabilities are reported to face restrictions in access to education, employment and welfare, and are vulnerable to sexual violence, forced marriage, abduction and human trafficking. Cases of forced abortions and sterilizations have also been documented.

Discrimination is also widespread in employment, with disabled people assigned to “light labor” workshops or subjected to solitary confinement and medical neglect on the grounds of low productivity.

The CRPD recommended that North Korea amend its constitution and laws to guarantee equality, enact antidiscrimination legislation, establish comprehensive remedies and strengthen public awareness campaigns.

It also urged the gradual integration of special schools into mainstream education so that disabled children can learn without discrimination.

The CRDP said that North Korea must immediately end all medical and scientific experiments targeting disabled people and punish those responsible for infanticide and other inhumane acts, and called for the protection of the right to life, the abolition of eugenic and discriminatory policies, and the elimination of the death penalty.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]