[News Today] NK TEENS HANDCUFFED FOR K-DRAMA

[LEAD]
During the COVID-19 crisis, North Korea intensified its control over citizens amid worsening economic conditions. KBS has obtained internal footage revealing the reality within the country during this period. The videos, intended for educational purposes for residents and soldiers, include scenes of teenage girls being handcuffed and publicly arrested for watching South Korean dramas. These clips starkly illustrate North Korea's severe human rights abuses.

[REPORT]
With their heads lowered, a group of women are seen sitting in the front row.

A teenage girl, with her face mask removed, bursts into tears before a mic. Her personal information has been disclosed. She is a 16-year-old student.

N. Korean educational video/
Multiple students were sternly punished for watching and spreading harmful materials, like South Korean TV dramas.

Teenagers were handcuffed and arrested in public for merely watching and sharing South Korean TV shows and movies.

Jang Mi/ Defected from N. Korea in 2020
This is the first time I'm seeing high school students get punished. For me, it is shocking to see them handcuffed.

KBS exclusively obtained about ten video footages of North Korea through a source familiar with North Korean affairs. Most of the two-hour-long videos were found to have been produced after May of 2021.

Made as educational materials for residents and soldiers, they offer glimpses into North Korea, which was plagued by various social problems during the COVID-19 pandemic from financial crimes, military indiscipline to felonies like murder.

In particular, the regime frequently carried out public trials and executions in an effort to block the inflow of external culture from other countries including South Korea.

N. Korean education video /
The offenders' spirits were dashed through 16 public trials, four criticism sessions.

Serious human rights violations could be found in these videos, such as the disclosure of family information, citing guilt by association.

N. Korean educational video/
How good of a teacher could she be to her students when she failed to educate her own daughter, allowing her to fall deep into the depths of crime?

Economic difficulties were heightened in North Korea when trade with China was suspended during the pandemic. It is analyzed that North Korean authorities have tightened its grip to prevent internal confusion and unrest. Meanwhile, human rights conditions continue to take a turn for the worse.