World · East Asia & Pacific · 1 day ago
North Korea uses footage of punished soldiers to warn against foreign media
A video made for North Korean soldiers shows people being punished for watching foreign films and television shows, including South Korean content.
Radio Free Asia released the video on October 12 and said it was made around 2023.
It shows phones being seized, soldiers arrested at public trials and people writing statements of remorse.
A speaker in the video calls for severe punishment and even argues that family members should also be held responsible.
One judgment shown gives a person two years of hard labor for watching foreign videos.
North Korea has passed laws since 2020 that provide legal grounds to punish people for contact with foreign culture.
The video presents those punishments as a warning to soldiers, but the accounts provided give no details about what action may follow.
North Korea is using footage of soldiers punished for watching South Korean films and dramas in ideological education materials for its military.
Radio Free Asia published the video on October 12, saying it was reportedly made around 2023.
The footage shows soldiers being arrested at public trials, writing statements of self-criticism and facing punishment.
A sentence of two years of correctional labor is shown for one person accused of watching foreign video.
The video warns that watching such content can harm soldiers and their families.
- Who
- North Korean military authorities are using the footage; the people shown include soldiers and military personnel accused of watching foreign media.
- What
- A military ideological education video uses scenes of arrests and punishments to warn against watching, possessing or sharing foreign video.
- When
- Radio Free Asia published the video on October 12, 2026; it was reportedly made around 2023.
- Where
- The video concerns North Korean military units. The reports were published from Seoul.
- Why
- The video presents watching foreign media as a serious crime and a threat to soldiers and their families.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
North Korea introduced the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act, providing a legal basis to punish contact with foreign culture.
North Korea introduced the Youth Education Guarantee Act.
North Korea introduced the Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act; the military education video was reportedly made around this time.
Radio Free Asia published the video showing punishments for military personnel accused of watching foreign media.
- Video source
- Radio Free Asia
- Reported production date
- Around 2023
- Sentence shown
- Two years of correctional labor
- Laws cited
- 2020 Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Act; 2021 Youth Education Guarantee Act; 2023 Pyongyang Cultural Language Protection Act
- Publication date
- October 12, 2026
What people are saying
We strongly propose, in the name of all military personnel, that they be pursued to the end, all caught, and dealt a merciless blow.
Watching impure recordings is a useless poisonous weed that ruins not only one's own fate but also the lives of family and relatives.
The crime of watching impure recordings is a serious crime, so even amnesty is not permitted in carrying out the sentence.
Sources
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