NK human rights report shortened

[Anchor]

The United States has published its first country-specific human rights report since the start of the Trump administration's second term.

In the case of North Korea, the evaluation of human rights remains unchanged, but the length of the report has significantly decreased, and sections criticizing the political system have been removed.

Reporter Park Seok-ho has the details.

[Report]

The key point of the North Korea human rights report prepared by the U.S. State Department is that the human rights situation in North Korea has not changed.

It states that atrocities such as executions, physical abuse, enforced disappearances, and collective punishment are used to maintain state control.

If individuals watch South Korean movies or listen to music, they face prison sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years, and many detainees continue to die from torture, disease, and starvation, with public executions also on the rise.

However, this report is half the length of last year's report during the Biden administration, and sections on freedom of political participation and government corruption have been removed.

Due to new guidelines that prohibit evaluations of other countries' electoral systems, reports on North Korea and most of the 198 countries have become more concise.

[Tammy Bruce/U.S. State Department Spokesperson: "We're not going to release something compiled and written by the previous administration. It needed to change based on the point of view and the vision of the Trump administration ."]

Amidst ongoing controversies regarding human rights violations related to the Trump administration's immigration policies, there are questions about the fairness of the U.S. evaluating other countries.

[White House Correspondent: "People coming to the United States that they should keep it open, his revoked visas on account of statements that people have made."]

The report on South Korea mentioned concerns expressed by media outlets and unions regarding the fairness of the politically appointed Korea Communications Commission.

There was no mention of emergency martial law at the end of last year.

This is KBS News, Park Seok-ho.