North Korea executes citizens who distribute foreign TV shows, UN finds

Human rights report highlights crackdown on personal freedoms in most restrictive country in the world

North Korea has executed people for distributing foreign television shows, including popular South Korean dramas, as part of an intensifying crackdown on personal freedoms, according to a UN human rights report.

Surveillance has grown more pervasive since 2014 with the help of new technologies, while punishments have become harsher – including the introduction of the death penalty for offences such as sharing foreign TV dramas, the report said.