북한 관련 원문입니다. http://web.amnesty.org/report2003/Prk-summary-engKorea (Democratic People's Republic of)Covering events from January - December 2002DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF SOUTH KOREAHead of state: Kim Jong IlHead of government: Hong Song NamDeath penalty: retentionistInternational Criminal Court: not signedThe government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) continued to refuse access to independent human rights monitors. Repression of fundamental freedoms, ill-treatment in prison camps, public executions and religious repression continued to be reported. Food shortages continued and there were fears that economic reforms could adversely affect the poor and vulnerable groups.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------BackgroundFurther informationAll AI documents on Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)Relations between North and South Korea (Republic of Korea) fluctuated during 2002. There was a serious naval battle in June on the West Sea in which five South Korean sailors and an unknown number from North Korea were killed. An unprecedented apology by the North Korean government led to inter-ministerial talks in July in Seoul, South Korea, and in October in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. Family reunions took place between separated families in May and September and there was agreement on a road and rail link between the two countries. North Korea participated in the Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea, in September as a separate country.During a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro in September, the Japanese delegation apologized for the damage and suffering inflicted by its past colonial rule over Korea, and offered economic cooperation including humanitarian aid. North Korea admitted abducting 13 Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s, eight of whom had died. The five survivors were later allowed to visit Japan. Talks about normalization of relations between the two countries started in October, but were suspended when the Japanese government insisted that the five kidnapped Japanese who were visiting Japan should be allowed to stay in Japan and that their family members in North Korea should be allowed to join them.In September the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs became the highest ranking US official under the Bush administration to visit Pyongyang. During the talks, the North Korean government admitted that it had a plutonium enrichment program, an admission which subsequently soured relations both with its neighbours and with the USA.Economic reforms were launched in July. It was feared that some of the reforms might lead to further impoverishment of the most vulnerable sections of society, including children and women. The North Korean currency was devalued and food prices rose dramatically. It was announced that food rationing systems as well as subsidized housing would be phased out. A family-unit farming system was introduced on a trial basis for the first time since the government imposed collective farming in 1953.Among other measures, in September the government set up a special administrative zone in Sinuiju, a town near the border with China. The local authority was given near-autonomy, especially in its economic affairs.Denial of accessInformation and access to the country remained tightly restricted. The denial of access to AI and other human rights observers hampered investigation of the human rights situation, although reports suggested serious patterns of violations, including executions, torture, detention of political prisoners and inhumane prison conditions.ExecutionsReports of public executions carried out in recent years continued to be received. This contradicted the statement of North Korean officials to the UN Human Rights Committee in July 2001 that the last public execution took place in 1992.Public executions were reportedly carried out in places where large crowds gather, with advance notice given to schools, enterprises and farms. Some prisoners were reportedly executed in front of their families. Executions were by hanging or firing squad.Freedom of expressionPolitical opposition of any kind was not tolerated. According to reports, any person who expressed an opinion contrary to the position of the ruling Korean Workers' Party faced severe punishment, and so did their family in many cases.The domestic news media continued to be strictly censored and access to international media broadcasts was restricted.Any unauthorized assembly or association was regarded as a "collective disturbance", liable to punishment. Religious freedom, although guaranteed by the Constitution, was in practice sharply curtailed. There were reports of severe repression of people involved in public and private religious activities, including imprisonment, torture and executions. A number of sources reported that many Christians were being held in labour camps, where they reportedly faced torture and starvation.Torture and ill-treatmentUnconfirmed reports suggested that torture and ill-treatment were widespread in prisons and labour camps. Conditions were reportedly extremely harsh.RefugeesMany North Koreans continued to cross the border into China. At least 100 North Koreans were permitted to leave China after seeking asylum in diplomatic compounds and foreign schools and went to South Korea via third countries.Hundreds of others were reportedly apprehended in China and forcibly returned to North Korea. Little was known about what happened to them after their return, but a number of sources reported that they often faced long interrogation sessions and torture. Some were reportedly sent to prison or labour camps.Food shortagesNorth Korea continued to rely on international aid to feed its population. According to a study by the Food and Agricultural Organization, more than 13 million people suffered from malnutrition. A fall in donations for its emergency operations in North Korea resulted in the World Food Programme (WFP) halting cereal distribution to three million women, children and elderly people in the relatively better-off western and southern provinces in October and November. It was feared that a further 1.5 million North Koreans in the poorer east would be deprived of rations in winter if the shortfalls continued.Government statistics indicated that 45 per cent of North Korean children under five were chronically malnourished, while a further four million school-aged children were also severely underfed, impairing their physical and mental development.Those deprived of WFP assistance were totally dependent on the government-run public distribution system, traditionally the main channel for food to most of the country's 23 million people. The public distribution system used to provide less than half the internationally recommended minimum nutritional intake to those it supplied, but under the economic reforms announced in July this system was due to be phased out.