Human Rights situation not going to improve under Kim Jong-un: Study

A new study has revealed that there is little chance of human rights improving in North Korea under the rule of Kim Jong-un.

A scholarly evaluation showed that fractional openings in North Korea, such as the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Zone, will not make a difference.

Dr. Sang-Yi O-Rauch said that state's elaborate control and terror system prevents the formation of any kind of opposition.

Dr. O-Rauch said the tentative convergence of the two countries in Kaesong will lead to greater exchanges between North and South Koreans, which will bring further new information into the country. It will also lead to economic stabilisation and might contribute to reducing military crises.

Since Kim Jong-un came to power, the human rights situation has deteriorated and state control has increased.

The scholar emphasises that this is also proven by the drastic drop in the number of refugees fleeing abroad.

The report showed the violation of human rights ranges from torture and forced labour to executions.

Many people die of starvation and receive little medical care. Others are arbitrarily spied on, arrested and tortured.

Up to 200,000 people have been detained in the camps, most of them for life, adds the research.

North Korea rejects the validity of universal human rights, even if it signed the universal declaration of human rights by joining the United Nations in 1991.