North Korea dramatically ramped up the number of executions it carried out after shutting its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a South Korea-based civic group said.

Seoul-based Transnational Justice Working Group said it has evidence of 60 execution cases, out of which 148 people were punished with death between 2020 and 2024, up from 41 executions over the previous five years.

The executions rose amid a decline in international pressure on Pyongyang, it said, confirming the regime’s “brutal governance”.

“After frequent executions in the early years of Kim Jong Un’s rule, the regime became more restrained amid discussions on referring Kim Jong Un to the International Criminal Court, but executions surged again after the Covid-19 border closure and the decline in international pressure,” the group said.

It also mapped 46 sites used by the North Korean regime for carrying out these executions. Of these 10 sites were in capital Pyongyang near the office of Mr Kim, it said.

“The 116.7 per cent surge in executions within North Korea – carried out under the cover of Covid-19 lockdowns – reconfirmed Kim Jong Un’s brutal governance,” said Minjong Ryu, lead researcher of the report.

The reclusive kingdom reopened slowly only in 2023, and allowed its citizens abroad to return. There is no official confirmation of the impact of the Covid outbreak in North Korea.

Officials in North Korea are yet to issue remarks on the report.

Before the pandemic closure, the group said, murder was cited as the most frequent reason for an execution.

The group said it interviewed 880 North Korean defectors living in South Korea and used satellite images to map the execution sites but added that the data should not be considered as definitive.

The largest portion of executions were those carried out for breaching restrictions on foreign culture and religion, including watching South Korean dramas and movies.

“The executions for homicide (intentional and negligent), which were the most common before the border closure, decreased by 44.4 per cent, capital offences related to South Korean culture including K-dramas, films, and K-pop, as well as religious and superstitious practices, increased by 250 per cent after the border closure,” the report said.

The number of executions against political crimes surged to 28 from four in the corresponding period as Mr Kim continued to crack down on dissent during the pandemic lockdowns.

“The number of condemned persons for political offences, including violations of Kim Jong-un’s directives and expressions of dissent, grew by 600 per cent,” it said.

These executions linked to cultural violations were also reported from inland areas of the country and not just from the bordering regions with China, suggesting that the K-pop content has spread throughout the country, said Hubert Lee, the group’s executive director.

He added that the anticipated succession of Kim's daughter could also lead to an increase in executions.

"The number of executions may surge when the time ⁠for Ju Ae to succeed is imminent, to remove the inner circle of her father and appoint ‌her people," he said.

The North Korean regime has seen human life as disposable and now dumped its nationals to the war in Ukraine, the official said.

“As a result of delaying decisive international measures against the North Korean regime for its entrenched disregard for human life, Kim Jong Un has sent thousands-if not tens of thousands-of young people to die as expendable in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, destroying security and peace in Europe,” he said.