North Korea conducts public executions for theft, watching South Korea media: report

[TomSea]

July 18, 2017 / 8:07 PM / an hour ago
North Korea conducts public executions for theft, watching South Korea media: report

Christine Kim

5 Min Read

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea carries out public executions on river banks and at school grounds and marketplaces for charges such as stealing copper from factory machines, distributing media from South Korea and prostitution, a report issued on Wednesday said.

The report, by a Seoul-based non-government group, said the often extra-judicial decisions for public executions are frequently influenced by "bad" family background or a government campaign to discourage certain behavior.

The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) said its report was based on interviews with 375 North Korean defectors from the isolated state over a period of two years.

Continued: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-rights-idUSKBN1A4035