The Democratic People's Republic of Korea ("North Korea") is under the absolute rule of the General Secretary of the Korean Workers' Party (KWP). Kim Jong Il was reconfirmed to the highest office of state as Chairman of the National Defence Commission. Only the KWP and 2 associated parties offered candidates in the 2003 elections for the 687-member Supreme People's Assembly. The elections were deemed neither free nor fair. Women compose 20% of Assembly members and 4% of members of the Central Committee. The legislature meets to approve proposals from the party leadership. The ideology of North Korea, referred to as juche, is one of self-reliance. North Korea is one of the world's most militarised societies but depends on international food aid to survive.

The judiciary is not independent. Privacy rights are guaranteed in law, but the legislation is not enforced, and a system of informers identifies those who question any aspect of official policy. Listening to foreign broadcasts or owning anti-state materials are crimes that can result in 5 years of labour re-education.

Members of the security forces are accused of human rights abuses, and political prisoners have been executed at public meetings attended by workers, students, school children and prisoners. Amnesty International reports that citizens exhibiting friendships with foreigners have disappeared. Torture is reported as routine and severe. The UNCHR called for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to examine conditions in the country, but the visit was not allowed by Korean authorities. The government contends that individual rights subvert the goals of the State and the Party.

The economy is highly centralised, so the informal economy is increasingly the source of employment for many. Heavy military spending skews economic development. A poor credit rating and defaults on foreign debt make international borrowing impossible, and corruption is reported as a growing problem.

Freedom of speech and of the press are provided in law but not in practice. Journalists are strictly monitored, and censorship is enforced. Some hotels offer Internet service to foreign visitors, but access is otherwise limited to high-ranking officials.

Loyalty ratings determine access to employment, higher education, place of residence, medical facilities and certain stores. Indoctrination is systematic, with the mass media, schools and worker and neighbourhood associations jointly communicating the state's message. Collective punishment of entire families may occur if any family member is even accused of a crime. Internal resettlement has relocated tens of thousands of persons to the countryside where conditions are severe.

Persons with physical and mental disabilities have been sent out of the city into internal exile.

Trafficking of women and girls across the border into China is reported.

Kim Jong Il has stated that ideological education must take precedence over academic education in schools. Education is compulsory for all children until age 15. Some children are denied education and subjected to punishment when collective retribution is imposed on all family members in the form of a lower loyalty classification. Children are subject to political indoctrination and several hours of military training a week in schools. They are sent to work in factories or in the fields to assist in meeting production goals.

The World Food Programme feeds 3.36 million Korean children annually. Colleges for Protestant and Buddhist clergy are government schools that give 3 years of religious education. A religious studies programme is taught at Kim IL Sung University.

A 2-year programme begins at age 4.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 15. Primary school begins at age 6 and lasts 4 years.

Secondary education begins at age 10 and lasts 6 years.

1,339 North Korean students are studying abroad, mainly in Italy (255), Germany (244), Canada (174) and the UK (156).

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed grave concern over discrimination against children with disabilities. The state does not ensure access to education, health or other social services for disabled children.
Social norms condone discrimination against persons with physical disabilities. Apart from veterans with disabilities, other disabled adults or children are almost never seen in the capital but are routinely relocated to rural areas.

The country does not participate in international refugee forums and has no known policy or provision for refugees.

North Koreans are ethnically and linguistically homogeneous. A small Chinese community of some 50,000 lives in North Korea.

Academic freedom is restricted and controlled. A primary function of the arts is to buttress the cult of personality of the leader.

Women have equal social status and rights with men in law, but few women have reached high levels in the party or the government. The number of women in the work force has declined as a result of widespread factory closures and poor economic conditions. Working-age men and women are required to work. Preschool children are left with elderly relatives or in state nurseries. Women with large families are supposed to work shorter hours. Approximately two-thirds of the refugees who found safe haven in South Korea were women.

The state prohibits work by children under age 16, and the Penal Code criminalises forced child labour. However, school children may be assigned to factories or farms to help meet production goals and to do other work, such as snow removal.

Freedom of association is not respected. The Korean Workers Party claims to represent the interests of all labour. Only a single labour federation is permitted, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea. Unions mobilise workers to support production goals and provide health, education, culture and welfare facilities. North Korea is not a member of the ILO. Workers do not have the right to bargain collectively or to strike. The labour law applies in the export processing zone.

The government claims that it prohibits forced or compulsory labour, yet it mobilises the population for projects. Forced and compulsory labour is done by prisoners. Re-education through labour is a common punishment for political offences. No data are available on the minimum wage in state-owned industries. The Constitution stipulates an 8-hour workday but sources report 12 to 16 hours are worked when factories are operating.