Human Rights Watch

Top Headlines From North Korea - September 2025

South Korea Debates New Term for North Korean Refugees

Recent discussions within South Korea's Unification Ministry are focusing on changing the official term for North Koreans who have fled their country. The move is a response to the refugees themselves, many of whom feel the current word, "defector," carries negative connotations and hinders their ability to fully integrate into a new society.

  • The current term, "talbukmin," literally translates to "people who escaped from the North," which many find stigmatizing.

  • Advocates for the change argue that a more neutral term would promote social integration and better reflect the diverse reasons people leave North Korea, from political oppression to economic hardship.

  • This linguistic shift highlights the ongoing challenges North Koreans face in adapting to life in the South, even after their perilous journeys.

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North Korean Youth Challenge State Control Through Fashion and Slang

Contestants sing at the 2023 Unification Music Competition at Gwanghwamun Square.

A report from Daily NK highlights the subtle but significant ways young North Koreans are resisting strict authoritarian controls. Through underground fashion choices, modern hairstyles, and the secret use of South Korean slang, the nation's youth are carving out personal identities in defiance of the state's monolithic culture.

  • Young North Korean people are reportedly adopting styles like above-the-knee dresses and using hair straightening treatments, moving away from state-mandated appearances.

  • Despite crackdowns, South Korean slang terms like "oppa" (older brother/friend) and "daebak" (awesome) are becoming common in private conversations, spread through illicit media.

  • This cultural resistance, fueled by a desire for self-expression, reveals a growing disconnect between the regime's ideology and the personal aspirations of its younger generation.

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A "Lost Decade": UN Report Details Worsening Hardships of Daily Life

A new United Nations report released in mid-September paints a grim picture of the last ten years inside North Korea, describing it as a "lost decade" for human rights. The report details the severe impact of prolonged border closures and repressive policies on the everyday lives of ordinary citizens, leading to increased hunger and suffering.

  • The report, based on hundreds of interviews, highlights how state policies restricting markets and movement have severely damaged the right to food.

  • Pervasive surveillance, forced labor, and harsh punishments for consuming foreign media have intensified, defining the daily existence for millions.

  • Despite official claims, the report underscores a collapse in access to essential medicine and the inability of people to bribe their way out of arbitrary punishments as the economy has worsened.

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China Facts: One Party - Effects on North Korean Refugees

What are the political conditions of the nation in which our North Korean refugees seek safety and shelter? China is an economic behemoth that is often difficult to understand. You might have seen reports that they're investing heavily in Africa, flexing their muscle in Hong Kong or quietly keeping North Korea afloat. But why? What is China's game plan? Why do they operate under the veil of such mystery?

Crossing Borders operates under the umbrella of the Chinese government so it is essential to understand China in order to understand the plight of the work that we do. Hopefully, our "China Facts" series will give you a better picture of how China affects North Korea and the North Korean refugees we serve.

Our first installment is about China's one party system.

China is a one-party system. The Communist Party in China rules the country. There are no conservative or liberal parties. China's government is centralized and ruled by those who are members of the Communist Party. Though it’s hard to generalize an institution so large, it is safe to say that one of the party’s main objectives is to hold onto power.

Chinese citizens have the right to vote for lower-level officials but these candidates often have to be endorsed by the party to make it to ballot. High-level officials are elected from within.

This system has given China a decided economic edge because the decision-making process is agile and the country is able to quickly respond to changes in the global economy. Where this system lags is in the area of human rights.

In their 2014 World Report, Human Rights Watch says about the country:

"Rapid socio-economic change in China has been accompanied by relaxation of some restrictions on basic rights, but the government remains an authoritarian one-party state. It places arbitrary curbs on expression, association, assembly, and religion; prohibits independent labor unions and human rights organizations; and maintains Party control over all judicial institutions."

What this means for the estimated 200,000 North Korean refugees in China is that they are granted no human rights because China sees cooperating with North Korea in their best interest. There is no legal recourse if a Chinese citizen murders a North Korean refugee.

This is why Crossing Borders has and will continue to operate underground. This is why we change the names of the people we help and the people who help them. This is why we blur the faces of the individuals we help.

Stay tuned for more facts about China.