It's illegal to show disrespect or make jokes about North Korea, current or former leaders or their families. It's also illegal to talk to North Koreans without authorisation. Authorities may consider it spying if you do. Only shop at stores designated for foreigners.
Tourism: Individuals cannot use a U.S. passport to travel to, in, or through North Korea without a special validation from the Department of State. Special Validations are granted only if it is in the US national interest to do so. Tourists are considered to be participating in activities at their own risk.
Freedom of movement
North Korean citizens usually cannot freely travel around the country, let alone travel abroad. Emigration and immigration are strictly controlled.
NORTH KOREA - AVOID ALL TRAVEL
Avoid all travel to North Korea due to the uncertain security situation caused by its nuclear weapons development program and highly repressive regime. There is no resident Canadian government office in the country.
If despite our advice, you travel to North Korea, you'll need a visa for all types of travel. North Korea doesn't have an embassy or consulate in Australia.
Internet access, however, is only available to resident foreigners and not tourists. North Korean mobile phones use a digital signature system to prevent access to unsanctioned files, and log usage information that can be physically inspected. A survey in 2017 found that 69% of households had a mobile phone.
According to multiple resolutions which have been passed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the North Korean government considers religious activities political crimes, because they could challenge the personality cult of Kim Il Sung and his family.
If the defectors are caught in China, they are repatriated back to North Korea, where rights groups say they often face harsh interrogations and years of punishment, or even death, in kwalliso prison camps (such as the Pukch'ang camp), or in kyohwaso reeducation camps (such as the Chungsan camp or Chongo-ri camp).
Internet access is available in North Korea, but is only permitted with special authorization. It is primarily used for government purposes, and also by foreigners. The country has some broadband infrastructure, including fiber optic links between major institutions.
Such marriages are becoming increasingly common in South Korea. More than 70% of the 33,000 North Koreans who have fled to South Korea are women. There are no official numbers on how many North Koreans have married South Korean men.
229 people defected from North Korea to South Korea in 2020, but less than 100 defected from North Korea in 2021 and 2022, according to South Korea's Ministry of Unification. Provisionally, 34 people have defected in 2023, according to the Unification Ministry.
Islamic states
In some, mostly Muslim states, censorship of the Bible exists today, such as in Saudi Arabia where the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles is illegal. Afghan Christians practice in secret. Bibles are not sold publicly.
Numerous testimonies of North Korean defectors confirm the practice of kin punishment (연좌제, yeonjwaje literally "association system") in North Korea, under which three generations of a political offender's family can be summarily imprisoned or executed.
While South Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and separation of church and state, the government has been sympathetic to Christianity. It considers the religion to provide some ideological protection against their Communist neighbor.
They have a close special relationship and China is often considered to be North Korea's closest ally. China and North Korea have a mutual aid and co-operation treaty, signed in 1961, which is currently the only defense treaty either country has with any nation.
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Alcohol faces no restrictions in the DPRK. There is no legal drinking age- although in general it's frowned upon for students to drink (this includes university students). Top producers like Taedonggang Beer are granted special designation by the state that ensures they receive priority over other factories.
Prominent supposedly executed criminals include officials convicted of drug trafficking and embezzlement. Common criminals convicted of crimes such as murder, robbery, rape, drug dealing, smuggling, piracy, vandalism, etc. have also been reported to be executed, mostly by firing squad.
In general, you can take photos freely in North Korea. However, there are a few points to keep in mind. – Always ask permission before taking a photo of a person.
Under Chinese law, it is illegal to bring printed religious material into the country if it exceeds the amount for personal use. The group distributes the Bibles through a local shop owner in Kunming, according to Klein.
Currently, among China's major religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs, Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels. The Bible is printed in China but legally available only at church bookstores approved by Beijing.
The facts, by the way, are that Bibles circulate freely in China, despite the Chinese government's bad record on religion and human rights. An official Chinese government statement said that it would prefer that athletes bring Bibles for personal use only, but stopped well short of a ban.
Park and her family escaped North Korea by crossing the border into Changbai Korean Autonomous County, Jilin, China. On the night of 30 March 2007, with the aid of human traffickers, Park and her mother crossed into China.