Criminal Law in North Korea

This article from the Japanese edition of the JoongAngIilbo about criminal law in North Korea is just too good not to translate.

• Is prostitution a crime in Korea? The answer is, it depends on how many times you do the dirty deed. As of the amendments of 2004 of the North Korean Criminal Code, the law reads, “A person who visits a prostitute on several occasions shall be sentenced up to two years of hard labor.” One visit to a prostitute is not enough for prosecution.

• South Korea has the crime of adultery. North Korea has a similar crime called “Illegal Marriage,” a recently enacted provision. This is not adultery so much as group sex, which is punished by up to five years of labor and reeducation. According to one person with ties to the administration in North Korea, “Criminal sexual acts are on the increase in North Korea, and this law was enacted in response to this.”

• Murder in North Korea is divided up into five categories, depending on motive and the type of killing: Malicious Heavy Murder, Malicious Light Murder, Provoked Murder, Excessive Force Self Defense Murder, and Negligent Murder. Malicious Heavy Murder is a murder committed from any motive other than desire or jealousy, and carries a minimum sentence of 10 years of labor and reeducation, and includes the death penalty.

• North Korea’s Criminal Code is distinguished from other countries by the lack of short and specific titles. For example, the crime of kidnapping is “the crime of luring a child,” theft is “the crime of depriving personal property,” and fraud is “the crime of depriving personal property through trickery.”

• Attorney fees in North Korea are typically paid by the state; however, it is said that to receive sufficient representation you have to give your attorney presents, and tabacco is the most common gift. Judge Yan Yonhi says that he is regularly approached with bribes, and this phenomenon is not unusual in the legal community in the DPRK.