AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

iefly detained incommunicado, interrogated
and expelled from the country because the
government found the stories they produced
highlighting aspects of everyday life in
Pyongyang to be ‘disrespectful’. Agence
France-Presse became one of the very few
foreign media companies to operate in North
Korea when it opened a Pyongyang office in
September.
Almost everyone was denied internet and
international mobile phone services. North
Koreans who lived close to the Chinese
border took significant risks in using
smuggled mobile phones connected to
Chinese networks in order to make contact
with individuals abroad. People who did not
own such phones had to pay exorbitant fees
to brokers in order to make international
calls. The use of smuggled mobile phones to
connect to Chinese mobile networks exposed
everyone involved to increased surveillance,
as well as the risk of arrest and detention on
various charges, including espionage. 3
The existing computer network remained
available to a very limited number of people,
providing access to domestic websites and
email services only. In September, the
misconfiguration of a server in North Korea
revealed to the world that the network
contained only 28 websites, all controlled by
official bodies or state-owned enterprises.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
In February, the authorities stopped all
investigations into abductions of Japanese
citizens, reversing the 2014 bilateral
agreement to investigate cases. Media
reports said that the decision followed
Japan’s reinstating previously eased
sanctions after North Korea’s nuclear
weapons tests in January. North Korea had
previously admitted that its security agents
abducted 12 Japanese nationals during the
1970s and 1980s.
1. South Korea: End secrecy surrounding North Korean restaurant
workers (ASA 25/4413/2016)
2. North Korea: U.S. citizen hard labour sentence shrouded in secrecy
(News story, 29 April)
3. Connection denied: Restrictions on mobile phones and outside
information in North Korea (ASA 24/3373/2016)
KOREA (REPUBLIC
OF)
Republic of Korea
Head of state and government: Park Geun-hye
Restrictions on the rights to freedom of
peaceful assembly and expression
persisted. Asylum-seekers were detained
and conscientious objectors were
imprisoned for exercising their human
rights. The detention in a state facility of
13 restaurant workers originally from the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(North Korea) called into question the
legality of the existing settlement support
process for North Koreans arriving in the
country.
The government failed to prevent private
companies from hindering lawful trade
union activity, and only belatedly followed
up on deaths and adverse health effects
resulting from the use of harmful products.
The decision of the government to proceed
with the deployment of the US-built
Terminal High Altitude Area Defence
(THAAD) anti-missile system triggered
strong opposition from domestic groups, as
well as condemnation from China and North
Korea.
Lawmakers voted to impeach President Park
Geun-hye on 9 December, which must be
confirmed through a decision by the
Constitutional Court.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
Authorities continued to restrict people from
exercising their right to freedom of peaceful
assembly, often under the pretext of
protecting public order. By the end of the
year, the authorities had not completed an
investigation into the excessive use of force
by police against largely peaceful protesters
during the anti-government “People’s Rally”
in November 2015, nor held accountable any
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