Seoul

North Korea has increased the number of criminal charges eligible for the death penalty from 11 to 16, following several revisions to its penal code between 2022 and 2023, according to a report by the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU). These changes, including the most recent in December 2023, were reported by source.

The report highlights that five new charges, such as anti-state propaganda and agitation, along with the illegal manufacturing, use, or transfer of weapons, ammunition, and explosives, now carry the death penalty as the maximum punishment. The increase in death-penalty crimes reflects North Korea’s efforts to tighten state control, particularly over weapons and explosives, in line with its five-year weapons development plan. The move also seems aimed at strengthening the protection of leader Kim Jong-un and his family.

KINU also noted that North Korea erased unification-related clauses from its penal code even before a key meeting in December 2023. During this meeting, Kim Jong-un declared that inter-Korean relations should be seen as those between two hostile states, stating that reconciliation and unification with South Korea were no longer meaningful, and calling for the removal of unification references from the law.